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Visual impairment common in U.S.
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BETHESDA, Md. — About 14 million Americans are visually impaired, and more than 11 million have uncorrected visual impairments, according to a government report.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers said teenagers, people with diabetes, Hispanics and people with a lower socioeconomic status have higher rates of visual impairment and “can most benefit from corrective lenses.”
Visual acuity data were obtained from 13,265 participants who visited a mobile examination center between 1999 and 2002. Visual impairment was defined as a presenting distance visual acuity of 20/50 or worse in the better-seeing eye.
Overall, 1,190 study participants had visual impairment, and of these, 83.3% could achieve good visual acuity with correction, the researchers said.
“This is the first national survey on vision since the mid-1970s and it confirms that uncorrected visual impairment is a major public health problem,” said Elias A. Zerhouni, MD, director of the NIH. “The good news is that we now have information on the extent of visual impairment in the United States that will be available to policymakers as they seek to address health care issues.”
Recommendations from the study included advice for people to continue or begin periodic eye examinations, having health care professionals urge their patients to have routine vision screening and eye exams and expanding vision screening opportunities for the general public.
“As ophthalmologists, we urge the public to take this health issue seriously, especially when vision problems are so often associated with other serious medical conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension,” said Harry Zink, MD, president of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
The study is published in the May issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.