Leading charity warns UK’s eye health has hit a crisis point with more than 1.6 million new cases of sight-threatening eye disease forecast over the next decade [1] – the equivalent of one new case every three minutes!
The analysis carried out by Eye Health UK [2] for National Eye Health Week (22-28 September) uses data modelled by York Health Economics Consortium [3] to predict future cases of the four most common causes of sight loss – cataract, glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic eye disease.
Future forecasting predicts a 24 per cent rise in the number of people suffering late age-related macular degeneration – the UK’s leading cause of blindness and a 13 per cent surge in cases of glaucoma.
David Cartwright chair of Eye Health UK warns: “Urgent steps to tackle poor eye health, including greater uptake of sight tests and prevention strategies, are needed to avoid people suffering unnecessary and irrecoverable vision...
