Increased vision impairment for the aged
Health care providers can expect a significant increase in age-related macular degeneration as the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age, according to a new study by American government and private researchers.
The study, published in the journal, Archives of Ophthalmology, predicts that the ageing population over the next 40 years will lead to a large increase in early and advanced age-related macular degeneration. If used universally, existing medical treatments could reduce the expected number of cases of visual impairment and blindness attributable to age-related macular degeneration by as much as 35%.
The researchers estimated that by 2050, the number of people with early age-related macular degeneration will double in the United States to more than 17.8 million. Without treatment, these patients would be expected to result in approximately 1.6 million cases of visual impairment and blindness in 2050, compared to between 400,000 and 600,000 cases today.
In contrast, the projected number of cases would fall 35%, to 1 million cases, if all patients received perfect medical treatment by today’s standards.
The study found that the universal use of vitamin prophylactic therapy alone by all patients with early age-related macular degeneration could reduce visual impairment and blindness by 23%.
Vitamin therapy only costs about $100 per patient per year, but is recommended for use by all patients with early disease, most of whom will never develop visual symptoms of age-related macular degeneration.
In contrast, if used alone, anti-VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) therapies would be expected to reduce visual impairment and blindness by only 17%. In their patented form, anti-VEGFs are far more costly than vitamins, but their use is targeted to the smaller group of patients who have developed advanced disease.
