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Prevalence of severe vision loss highest in southern US
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the majority of severe vision loss in the U.S. was found in counties in the South and that it was significantly correlated with poverty.
According to the results of the American Community Survey, 77.3% of counties in the top severe vision loss (SVL) prevalence quartile were located in the South. The CDC also reported that 437 counties were in the top quartiles for both SVL and poverty, and 83.1% of those counties were located in southern states.
The prevalence of SVL in other regions was 11.7% in the West, 10.7% in the Midwest and 0.3% in the Northeast, according to the report, while 9.1% of the counties in the top quartiles for both SVL and poverty were in the West, and 7.8% were in the Midwest.
“A better understanding of the underlying barriers and facilitators of access and use of eye care services at the local level is needed to enable the development of more effective interventions and policies,” the CDC stated, “and to help planners and practitioners serve the growing population with and at risk for vision loss more efficiently.”
The American Community Survey, which was conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, used data from 2009 to 2013 from adults at least 18 years old living in 3,143 counties. The survey is ongoing, sent to about 250,000 addresses monthly. Questions address demographics, housing and social and economic characteristics.
The CDC noted that the survey measures SVL based on responses to the question: “Is this person blind or does he or she have serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses?”
This analysis found that 2.6% of adults at least 18 years old reported severe vision loss.
“The data show the county level correlation of SVL and poverty, indicating that counties with higher levels of poverty had higher levels of SVL,” the CDC stated. “These findings are consistent with U.S. Census reports of lower earnings and higher poverty rates among persons with disabilities.”
A previous report from the Institute of Medicine suggests that SVL can result in lower economic earnings, according to the CDC. Other studies have indicated that “access to and use of health care are important factors in the relationship between visual impairment and socioeconomic status, and that persons with higher income and education were more than likely than those with lower income to visit an eye care provider.”
The CDC reported that other associations have been found between low rates of eye care use and lack of health insurance, unhealthy behaviors in the local environment, availability of services, lack of eye health knowledge and access to care. – by Nancy Hemphill, ELS, FAAO
Reference:
Stobo JD, McGeary M, Barnes DK, ed. Improving the Social Security Disability Decision Process. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2007.
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