The proportion of Americans ages 12 to 54 who need corrective lenses for distance sight has risen in recent decades, increasing to almost 42 percent in 1999-2004, up from 25 percent in the early 1970s, The New York Times reports a national study has found.
While the prevalence of nearsightedness has increased around the world, this study is one of the first to document a significant increase over time in the percentage of Americans with the condition, said Susan Vitale, an epidemiologist at the National Eye Institute.
“The nice thing about this is that it’s very treatable,” Dr. Vitale said. “There are glasses and contact lenses and, for some people, refractory surgery.”
She noted that the treatment was costly, estimated at $3 billion a year assuming over one-third of Americans ages 12 to 54 need corrective lenses.
Higher levels of education are often associated with nearsightedness, and people are more likely to have jobs that involve focusing on nearby objects (computer screens?), believed to be a leading cause of the condition.
Photo by lusi.