Visual impairment in US to double by 2050, say researchers

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: A new study led by a Indian-origin researcher says that prevalence in blindness and visual impairment may double in the US by 2050.

The study claims that in another 35 years, the number of Americans with a variety of eye diseases like glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy (DR), age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataracts will increase dramatically.

"This study gives us a GPS for our nation's future eye health," said principal investigator Rohit Varma from University of Southern California in the US.

"Increased education and vision screenings are critical for both younger and older Americans, but especially women and minorities over age 40, to prevent vision impairment that can dramatically worsen their quality of life,” Varma noted.

The researchers found that more than two million Americans over age 40 will be blind and 6.95 million will have visual impairment by 2050 compared to 1.02 million and 3.22 million respectively from 2015 census data.

(With IANS inputs)