Study: Half of U.S. adults at high risk for vision loss not receiving eye exams

Of an estimated 61 million Americans at increased risk for vision loss, only slightly more than half received a dilated eye exam within the past 12 months, a study found. In addition, one in 12 people at high risk for vision loss could not afford eye glasses when needed, the study authors noted.

"Better targeting of resources and efforts toward people at high risk may help reduce these disparities," they said.

Xinzhi Zhang, MD, PhD, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and colleagues used data from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey to estimate the number of U.S. adults at risk for vision loss as well as factors associated with eye care services use. The survey included a nationally representative sample of more than 30,000 people age 18 years and older, according to the study.

Of respondents to the survey, 16% were age 65 years and older, 6.5% had diabetes and 19.5% had a vision problem such as age-related macular degeneration, cataract or glaucoma.

From these percentages, the researchers estimated that 61 million Americans are at high risk for vision loss and, of these, just more than 50% visited an eye doctor or had a dilated eye exam in the past year. Among an estimated 78 million American who received a dilated eye exam, 58% were classified as low risk for vision loss, the authors reported.

The researchers found that the likelihood of receiving a dilated eye exam increased significantly with age, education and higher income. Other factors increasing the probability of dilated eye exams included having insurance, being female and having diabetes or vision problems (P < .01), according to the study.

"We also found that African Americans and Hispanic persons were significantly less likely to visit an eye doctor than were white persons, which calls for continued efforts to improve the access to eye care services among minority populations, as found in other studies," the authors said.

In addition to inequalities in receipt of eye care services, Dr. Zhang and colleagues estimated that 5 million Americans could not afford eyeglasses when needed. These people were more likely to be single and female, have lower income, lack health insurance or have diabetes or vision problems, the authors noted.

The study is published in the March issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.