Almost
1.5 million Australians aged 55 or over suffered from untreated cataract in
2004, which represents 31% of that age group, according to Vision Problems
Among Older Australians, a report released today by the Australian Institute
of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
Among older Australians, cataract
(a clouding of the eye’s naturally clear lens) is the most common eye disease
and the most common cause of visual impairment.It becomes more prevalent with
age, such that well over 70% of Australians aged 80 or over have the disease.
Cataract is also found more often in women than men.Although cataracts are
strongly related to the ageing process, other important (and preventable)
risk factors include long-term exposure to sunlight and cigarette smoking.Other
eye diseases that can cause visual impairment in older Australians include
age-related macular degeneration (affecting 3.1% of older Australians), diabetic
retinopathy (2.8%), and glaucoma (2.3%).
A substantial number of people
aged over 55 (about 491,900, or 10.4%) also have a condition called early
age-related maculopathy, which usually carries no symptoms, but enhances the
risk of progressing to age-related macular degeneration and resulting visual
impairment.Thus 13.5% of older Australians
(638,900) have, or are at risk of developing, age-related macular degeneration.Head
of AIHW’s Ageing and Aged Care Unit, Ann Peut, said that visual impairment
and blindness are common problems in older Australians and the number of older
people affected is likely to increase as the population ages."
About 444,400 Australians aged
55 or more are visually impaired, which represents 9.4 per cent of the 4.7
million Australians in that age group," Ms Peut said."Visual impairment
can significantly affect their daily living in many ways such as reading,
watching television, driving, getting around ;and increasing the risk
of falls and injury. Preventing and treating these conditions can increase
the prospect of enjoying life as a healthy, productive older person."The
report also found that about 1.2% of older Australians (56,100 people) are
so visually impaired that they are rated as blind. The most common causes
of blindness in this age group are age-related macular degeneration (50 per
cent of all cases of blindness), glaucoma (16%), and cataract (12%).Vision Problems Among Older Australians is the first report of its kind
to be based on the best of local and international data sources.
It is part of a series being produced
by the AIHW with support from the Australian Government Department of Health
and Ageing to help assess the health and wellbeing of the older population
in Australia.