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Study: Nearly half of patients requiring vision correction are astigmatic
SALT LAKE CITY — New research shows that almost 50% of patients who need vision correction are significantly astigmatic in at least one eye, and the prevalence of astigmatism is nearly double in patients with myopia compared to those with hyperopia.
Here at Optometry's Meeting, Vistakon representatives shared data from a study recently published in Eye & Contact Lens that showed that 47.4% of the 11,624 patients in a database demonstrated significant astigmatism in at least one eye, and 24.1% exhibited significant astigmatism in both eyes.
A secondary finding was that the prevalence of astigmatism was lower in younger patients. In patients 20 years and younger, 21.4% had astigmatism of 0.75 D or greater in both eyes compared with 24.5% of those older than 40 years.
The analysis included patients between 8 years and 70 years old.
"These findings provide useful information on the proportion of potential soft contact lens wearers requiring an astigmatic correction," Graeme Young, PhD, FCOptom, DCLP, and co-author of the study said in a Vistakon press release. "Patients with astigmatism - even in just one eye - can benefit from advances in toric contact lens technology."
This research was sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Vision Care.
Reference:
Young G, Sulley A, Hunt C. Prevalence of astigmatism in relation to soft contact lens fitting. Eye & Contact Lens. 2011;37.