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Researchers: Recognizing presbyopia formally as vision impairment by WHO is essential
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The late Brien A. Holden, PhD, DSc, OAM, and colleagues recommended formal inclusion of near vision impairment in the World Health Organization’s international statistical classification of diseases as a crucial step in improving uncorrected presbyopia worldwide, in a paper from the Bulletin of the World Health Organization.
“Impairment of near vision is at least as detrimental to quality of life as impairment of distance vision, regardless of the setting, sociodemographics or lifestyle of participants,” the researchers wrote.
The paper estimated that more than half of the 1 billion people affected by presbyopia globally cannot afford the eyeglasses needed to correct their vision.
In 2002, the World Health Organization excluded vision impairment that could be prevented “with use of the best possible optical correction” from the category H54, according to researchers.
Various vision groups argued that this definition was meaningless if no optical correction were available.
“[In low income areas] spectacles have been found to be essential for a range of activities including sorting grains, weeding, cooking, sewing and caring for children,” the researchers wrote.
Disclosure: The researchers reported no relevant financial disclosures.
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