Visual Impairments Among Immigrants Living in Northeast Turkey and Their Ocular Finding Differences Compared to the Local Population

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the existing eye pathologies of immigrant patients due to visual impairment and to compare them with the local population. Materials and Methods: Between November 2018 and August 2019, a total of 150 participants among immigrants and 440 participants among local people were included in the study. Analysis of disease prevalence was calculated as a ratio of the total cohort screened with available data. The average, standard deviation, percentage, and minimum and maximum values of the data were calculated. Results: Of the 590 patients in the study, 440 were from the local population and 150 were immigrants comprising 90 Afghans and 60 Meskhetian Turks. The rate of the patients wearing glasses at presentation was higher in the local population than among the immigrant patients (p<0.001). The number of uncorrected refractive errors was significantly higher in immigrants than in the local population (p<0.001). The proportion of patients who stated that they had an eye examination for the 1st time was significantly higher among the immigrant patients (p<0.001). Infectious conjunctivitis, keratitis, and cataract were significantly higher among the Afghan patients (p<0.001). In the Afghan patients and local population, the history of ocular trauma was significantly higher compared to the Meskhetian Turks (p<0.001). In the Afghan patients, the presence of a corneal or conjunctival foreign body was significantly higher than in the other groups (p<0.001). Conclusion: Ocular disorders, such as cataracts and associated legal blindness, infectious eye diseases, and uncorrected refractive error can be seen more in immigrants. To remedy this situation, there are many steps that all of the countries must take for these individuals to access the necessary health care.