Optometry

Fifty-two percent more Canadians will be blind in 20 years

By 2026, the number of blind and visually impaired people in Canada will grow by 52%, according to Jacques Gresset, Director of the School of Optometry at the Université de Montréal. For the 75-plus age bracket, that increase will be 72%. “This is cause for concern, given the social and human costs of blindness,” states Mr. Gresset.

According to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB), the blind enter permanent care facilities three years earlier than the seeing population of the same age. The blind experience twice the number of falls; their incidence of depression is three times higher and hip fractures are four times more common. Most serious of all, the mortality rate among blind seniors is double that of the seeing population of the same age.

In February 2004, Mr. Gresset attended a national meeting in Toronto, on the costs of blindness. The meeting, organized by the CNIB and its partners, followed up on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) resolution to take international action to prevent this little known global problem. The recent report states that Canada, although a signatory of the WHO resolution, has yet to take concrete action to address the problem.

At present, Quebec’s Medicare program covers the costs of rehabilitation for the blind and visually impaired. Ontario also provides significant protection, but other Canadian provinces do not cover all costs. Given that a blind person incurs financial losses estimated at $22,000 a year, increases in blindness are cause for concern, especially in the context of budget cutbacks. “Blindness has long been neglected by public authorities. I think it’s time to address this issue and implement preventive measures,” states Mr. Gresset.

Mr. Gresset, who has been studying the epidemiology of visual impairment for three decades, points out that ocular problems can often be treated before any irreparable vision loss sets in. “In 75% of cases of vision loss, the deterioration could have been prevented, either by surgery or medication. Blindness is related to age, and often results from negligence.”

One in nine 65-year-olds is affected by vision loss, and this proportion is expected to reach one in four within the next decade. There are four major causes of vision loss: macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and cataracts.

Surprisingly, it is difficult to quantify the number of blind or visually impaired in Quebec. In Canada, there are 68,000 blind and 319,000 visually impaired. “One thing is certain—our ageing population is going to lead to a demographic boom in people with visual impairments,” states Mr. Gresset. A person is considered blind when he or she scores less than 6/60 in a visual acuity test with the stronger of the two eyes; a person is considered visually impaired with a score of less than 6/21.