Evidence mapPaperPMID 37355259Full record

ArticleBMJ open2023

Estimating the costs of blindness and moderate to severe visual impairment among people with diabetes in India.

Stuart Redding, Robert Anderson, Rajiv Raman, Sobha Sivaprasad, Raphael Wittenberg, ORNATE India Project Group

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
2.2field-weighted citation impact, top 13% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Diabetic retinal disease.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2025
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Stuart ReddingCentre for Health Service Economics & Organisation, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK stuart.redding@phc.ox.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0001-5974-4395
Robert AndersonCentre for Health Service Economics & Organisation, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-8580-9663
Rajiv RamanShri Bhagwan Mahavir Vitreoretinal Services, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, India.ORCID 0000-0001-5842-0233
Sobha SivaprasadClinical Research Facility, Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-8952-0659
Raphael WittenbergCentre for Health Service Economics & Organisation, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-3096-2721
ORNATE India Project Group
University of Oxford · GBMoorfields Eye Hospital · GBSankara Nethralaya · IN

Funding

Department of HealthMedical Research Council MR/P027881/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThis study provides an estimate of the annual cost of blindness and moderate to severe visual impairment (MSVI) among people with diabetes aged 40 years and above in India in the year 2019.

designA cost of illness study.

settingIndia.

participantsPeople with diabetes aged 40 years and above in India in the year 2019. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Estimates are provided for the total costs of screening for most common vision-threatening eye conditions, treatment of these conditions, economic activity lost by these people and their family carers whose ability to work is affected, and loss of quality of life experienced by people with diabetes and blindness or MSVI.

resultsIt is estimated that for people with diabetes aged 40 years or above, annual screening followed by eye examination where required would cost around 42.3 billion Indian rupees (INR) (4230 crores) per year; treating sight problems around 2.87 billion INR (287 crores) per year if 20% of those needing treatment receive it; and lost economic activity around 472 billion INR (47 200 crores). Moreover, 2.86 million (0.286 crores) quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) are lost annually due to blindness and MSVI. The estimate of lost production is highly sensitive to the proportion of people with MSVI able to work and how their output compares with that of a person with no visual impairment.

conclusionsThis is the first study to estimate the cost of blindness and MSVI for people aged 40 years and over with diabetes in India. The annual cost to the Indian economy is substantial. This cost will be expected to fall if a successful screening and treatment plan is introduced in India. Further work is suggested using more robust data, when available, to estimate the loss of productivity and loss of QALYs, as this would be worthwhile.

Indexed as

Diabetes MellitusVision, LowAdultBlindnessHumansIndiaMiddle AgedPrevalenceQuality of LifeGeneral diabetesHEALTH ECONOMICSOPHTHALMOLOGY

Identifiers

PMID37355259
PMCPMC10314483
OpenAlexW4381943676

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.