focus on low vision

The Demographics of Low Vision

by Stephanie K. De Long

No matter how you slice it—by age, economics, or ethnicity—the fact is that low vision runs across all lines. Here are some of low vision's impacts.

YOUTH STATS

The idea that all low vision patients are elderly could not be further from the truth. While it is true that many low vision patients suffer age-related macular degeneration and other diseases common to older people, low vision is fair-minded. Low vision practitioners report that a good deal of their patients are indeed children.

With the advancements in prenatal care, retinopathy of prematurity is declining, but it is still the primary cause of low vision in kids. Optic nerve atrophy is second, followed by congenital nystagmus or albinism. They may also experience vision impairment secondary to congenital cataracts, inherited retinal disorders, and congenital glaucoma.

Here are some specific stats about low vision and young people.

■ KIDS. According to the 2006 Survey of Income and Program Participation, 0.4 percent of children ages six to 14 are visually impaired.

■ TEENS. When looking at the entire under-18 population, that number rises to 0.8 percent, according to the National Health Interview Study.

■ COLLEGE. The National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS) reports that 57 percent of youth with visual impairments attend postsecondary schools, compared to 78 percent in the overall population. That is, however, a higher percentage than the 27 percent of the overall disabled population who obtain college degrees.

ADULT VISION LOSS

According to the 1996 National Health Interview Survey, some degree of vision impairment affects at least eight million Americans of all ages. Other sources, including the National Advisory Eye Council, peg that number at 13 million.

Whatever the exact number, the percent of persons afflicted with low vision increases with age.

According to The Lighthouse National Survey on Vision Loss, which was conducted in 1995, one in six Americans (17 percent) 45 years of age or older report some form of vision impairment.

That's approximately 16.5 million middle-aged and beyond adults. The percentage seems highest for seniors in nursing homes, where, according to the 1997 National Nursing Home survey, 27 percent of residents over 65 have a visual impairment.

Regardless of their setting, Americans' vision loss problems definitely increase with age. For example:

■ AGES 16-45: Five percent of Americans between these ages are considered visually impaired.

■ AGES 45-64: 15 percent of these Americans, 9.3 million people, report some form of vision impairment. By age 60, more than 1.6 million people are afflicted with age-related macular degeneration, and up to another 15 million are pre-symptomatic, though many don't know it.

■ AGES 65-74: 17 percent of these seniors, representing 3.1 million Americans, report some vision impairment.

■ AGES 75+: The number of visually impaired rises to 26 percent (4.3 million) of this oldest group.

ETHNICITY AND…

■ EYE EXAMS. According to an online survey conducted for Lighthouse International by Harris Interactive, 49 percent of whites, but only 37 percent of blacks and Hispanics, say they get their eyes examined every year.

■ AWARENESS. In a Harris phone survey conducted for the American Optometric Association, only 27 percent of those interviewed knew about low vision. Among the high-risk African-American population, only 21 percent were familiar with it.

■ VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. The Baltimore Eye Survey found that visual impairment rates among African-Americans were twice that of whites. And, The Los Angeles Latino Eye Study found that vision impairment rates in Latinos are comparable to those reported in blacks.

ECONOMICS OF LOW VISION

Low vision is expensive, and employment for some partially sighted persons remains a challenge.

■ Nearly 44 percent of unemployed working-age adults in the U.S. suffer from visual disabilities.

■ Only 41 percent of visually impaired American adults are employed, as opposed to 84 percent of the population that is not visually disabled.

■ The annual cost of services provided to the blind and visually impaired in the U.S. is $22 billion and growing.

No matter how you analyze the numbers, the bottom line is the same: The real problem isn't absence of assistance, it is the lack of information. EB