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1 billion people may be afflicted with blindness by 2050

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If the myopia epidemic is ignored, up to 1 billion people could be at risk of blindness in 35 years, according to researchers from the Brien Holden Vision Institute.

They predict that nearly 5 billion people will be myopic by 2050, with up to 20% in the high myopia category, if behavioral interventions and treatments are not developed and implemented.

The release of these statistics from the Brien Holden Vision Institute (BHVI) coincided with World Sight Day, today, Oct. 8.

“First, the public must be made aware that this threat exists. Second, we need researchers and public health practitioners to develop effective solutions. Third, eye care professionals need to be better equipped to manage patients at risk,” BHVI acting CEO Kovin Naidoo, OD, MPH, PhD, FAAO, said in the release.

In urban areas of Singapore, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea, myopia prevalence is 80% to 90% among school graduates, according to the release.

In the U.S., the rate has increased in adults from 25% in the early 1970s to 42% in 2004.

Reducing the progression of myopia in individuals by 50% will prevent almost 90% of myopes reaching high levels of myopia, according to the institute.

“The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness has made this year’s World Sight Day theme ‘Eye care for all,’” Naidoo said. “Myopia is a concern for all people of all ages, but not just today; this is a generational commitment we must make.”