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 Roughly nine in 10 children and adults under 45 years old with
what’s known as refractive errors, or eyesight that may be improved
with corrective lenses, could have their vision restored to at least
20/40 with glasses, contacts or surgery, researchers calculated.
This may also be true for up to about one-third of older people with
refractive errors, researchers report in JAMA Ophthalmology.
“The most important message is to not confuse correctable with
uncorrectable vision loss,” said senior study author Robert Massof,
director of the Lions Vision Research and Rehabilitation Center at
the Wilmer Eye Institute and Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine in Baltimore.
“Our study confirms that the leading cause of visual impairment in
the U.S. population, particularly in children and younger adults is
uncorrected refractive error, which can be corrected (usually to
20/20 or better) with glasses, contact lenses, or refractive
surgery,” Massof said by email.
Massof and colleagues examined survey data for a nationally
representative sample of 6,016 people nationwide.
In addition to examining refractive errors, researchers also looked
at rates of blindness and what’s known as low vision.
Low vision can’t be corrected with glasses, contacts, medication or
surgery, and it’s typically caused by age-related eye problems like
diabetic eye disease, glaucoma or macular degeneration. People can
lose a portion of their field of vision, and the vision loss may be
mild or it might be severe enough to limit daily activities like
reading or driving.
Nearly 3 million Americans have low vision but aren’t legally blind,
and might benefit from vision rehabilitation, Massof said. Vision
rehabilitation can involve corrective lenses as well as lighting or
magnification devices or other non-optical aids.
“Although the risk of uncorrectable vision loss increases with age,
vision rehabilitation can help people learn to use tools and
strategies that will enable them to regain function,” Massof said.
One limitation of the study is that the survey excluded people
living in nursing homes, assisted living facilities or other care
settings, which might mean the rates of vision problems were
underestimated, the authors note.
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Even so, the results in the U.S. study mirror trends elsewhere in
the world where blindness and vision rates are decreasing but the
absolute number of cases is increasing due to the aging of the
population, said Jill Keeffe, a researcher at the L.V. Prasad Eye
Institute in Hyderabad, India, who wasn’t involved in the study.
“Ageing is one of the major risks of eye disease and vision loss,”
Keeffe said by email.
“People should have their eyes examined at least every 2 years as
many causes of vision can be treated and vision either restored or
vision stopped from worsening,” Keeffe added. “It is not possible
for all, but for many with vision loss, referral for low vision and
rehabilitation services is important.”
Seeing a doctor matters especially for people who drive and may be
able to correct their vision enough to avoid a restricted license,
said Dr. Paul Lee of Kellogg Eye Center at the University of
Michigan in Ann Arbor.
“The take-home message for those under the age of 44 is that if you
don’t see well, you should see an eye doctor,” Lee, who wasn’t
involved in the study, said by email.
“Around 90 percent or more of those in this age range with decreased
vision can be corrected with glasses or contacts to 20/40 or
better,” Lee advised. “This is the visual acuity level in most
states for having an unrestricted driver’s license. In addition,
many of those older than 45 can also correct their vision to 20/40
or better with glasses or contacts.”
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2yaOnwc JAMA Ophthalmology, online November 2,
2017.
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