Question

Which is the commonest cause of ocular morbidity in the community?

• A. Cataract
• B. Refractive error
• C. Ocular injury
• D. Vitamin A deficiency

Hint:

Refractive error is the most common eye problem overall; cataract leads in blindness, not morbidity.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

This question separates two ideas that are often mixed up: the commonest cause of eye disease in the community (morbidity) versus the commonest cause of blindness.

1. Cataract: The leading cause of blindness in India, but it is not the most frequent eye problem in the whole community, since it mainly affects older adults.
2. Refractive error: Found across children, adults and the elderly alike, this is the single most frequent eye condition in the community, and it accounts for the largest share of ocular morbidity.
3. Ocular injury: Occurs in the community but at a much lower rate than refractive error.
4. Vitamin A deficiency: An important but less common cause of eye problems compared with refractive error.

Community eye health surveys in India repeatedly find refractive error as the leading cause of ocular morbidity, while cataract stays the leading cause of blindness, since not every refractive error case is blinding, but almost every cataract case, left untreated, threatens vision severely.

Let's summarize:

• Ocular morbidity (how often a problem occurs) and blindness (how severe it is) are different measures.
• Refractive error wins on morbidity, cataract wins on blindness.

So the correct answer is refractive error.