LONDON, August 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
A leading eye hospital group highlights the trend for Britons to
have cataract surgery at a younger age than ever before.
A new study by Optegra Eye Health Care[i] suggests a
third of British adults (33 per cent) know someone who has been
diagnosed and treated for cataracts in their 50s or 60s, an eye
condition which has historically mainly been treated in the over
70s.
Leading ophthalmic surgeon, Anne
Gilvarry, at Optegra Eye Health Care states: "Ten years ago,
if I had seen someone in their 50s who had cataracts, I would have
been really concerned, ordering extra scans and blood tests. But
now, I regularly see such patients!"
In fact almost a fifth (16 per cent) of enquiries to Optegra
regarding cataract are now from people in their 40s and 50s.
It is believed causes may be the impact of UV, trauma, diabetes,
other eye problems such as short sightedness and vitrectomy
surgery.
Academic studies[ii] reveal the majority (88 per
cent) of people with treatable visual impairment from cataract were
not in touch with eye health services, capturing a high level of
potentially unmet need. It is estimated that 225,000 new
cases of visually impairing cataract should be expected each
year.
Gilvarry states: "One in three of us is likely to develop
cataracts[iii] so we are calling on people to really be
aware of the symptoms and to have their eyes checked
regularly."
The new study by Optegra Eye Health Care revealed low awareness
of symptoms:
- 30 per cent do not realise cataracts can cause cloudy
vision
- Almost half (48 per cent) do not know blurred vision is a
symptom
- Just a third (33 per cent) realise cataracts can cause poor
vision in bright light
- And 12 per cent of British adults did not know any of the
symptoms
Optegra operates 23 eye hospitals and clinics and brings
together leading edge research, medical expertise, state-of-the-art
surgical equipment and top ophthalmic surgeons renowned for their
areas of expertise to offer excellent clinical outcomes.
References:
i. Consumer research carried out April
2015 for Optegra by Censuswide; online research with 2,231
British adults aged 16 years and above.
ii. Minassian DC, Reidy A, Desai P, Farrow S, Vafidis G,
Minassian A. The deficit in cataract surgery in England and Wales and the escalating problem of visual
impairment: epidemiological modelling of the population dynamics of
cataract. Br J Ophthalmol 2000;84:4-8.
iii. As cited in the RCOphth document ‘Cataract surgery
guidelines’ Sept 2010.
For more information please
contact:
Charlotte Sutton
+44-(0)7958-279240
charlotte@charlottesuttonpr.com