More women losing eyesight to disease

staff reports
Published: July 10, 2008

RICHMOND — More women than men are diagnosed with vision threatening eye disease every year.  Potentially blinding diseases such as glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy strike women in some cases twice as much as men. 

An updated report from Prevent Blindness America and the National Eye Institute shows that not only have the numbers of age-related eye disease risen across the board, but that women are still largely more affected than men.  For example, of the more than 2 million Americans age 50 and older that have AMD, more than 1.3 million of those cases are women.  And, of the 4.4 million Americans ages 40 and older that have diabetic retinopathy, 2.3 million are female. 

Of the more than 3.6 million Americans age 40 and older that suffer from visual impairment, including blindness, 2.3 million are women.  Vision impairment is defined as having 20/40 or worse vision in the better eye even with eyeglasses.  Prevent Blindness Mid-Atlantic has designated April as Women’s Eye Health and Safety Month to raise awareness of these issues.

“Some may be under the impression that losing vision is just a simple part of the aging process, but these numbers include many women in their 40’s,” said Tim Gresham, President of Prevent Blindness Mid-Atlantic.

Dry eye syndrome, a condition where not enough natural tears are produced, is far more common in women as well. 

“Only an eye doctor can effectively diagnose eye problems and, if detected early, can help to minimize the loss of vision.”
— Press release