Prevalence of Nearsightedness on Rise in the US

Women are at greater risk for complications of high myopia. An estimated 527,000 women have that condition compared to 292,000 men.

About 9.6 million adults in the United States suffer from severe nearsightedness, finds a new study.

The findings showed that, nearly 820,000 are suffering from progressive high myopia -- a degenerative form of myopia.

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‘People with high myopia are at higher risk of myopic choroidal neovascularization. The prevalence rate of the condition has doubled in women compared to men.’

Further, women appeared to be at greater risk for complications of high myopia. An estimated 527,000 women have that condition compared to 292,000 men.

The prevalence rate for progressive high myopia was 0.42 percent in women compared to 0.25 percent in men.

In addition, more than 41,000 suffer a complication called myopic choroidal neovascularization -- a condition characterized by the growth of new, unstable blood vessels beneath the retina -- that could cause long-term vision loss.

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The prevalence rate for women was found double that of men.

"Prior to this study, we really had no idea how many people had myopic choroidal neovascularization, which can be devastating," said lead author Jeffrey Willis from the University of California, Davis.

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"I think the findings emphasize the growing issue of nearsightedness and the burden it creates in terms of medical complications that cannot be fixed with just glasses or contacts," Willis added.

The research, published online in the journal Ophthalmology, is the first large-scale study ever done to calculate the real-world prevalence of myopic choroidal neovascularization in the US.

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Source-IANS