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NEW REPORT TARGETS CANADA’S VISION LOSS CRISIS
“We know where we will be in 20 years…
Our weakness will be failing to act on this knowledge”
TORONTO – October 14, 2004 – According to a
hard-hitting new document released today, 10 major barriers exist in
preventing, diagnosing, treating and supporting vision loss in Canada.
A Clear Vision: Solutions to Canada’s Vision Loss Crisis,
presents the findings of worldwide experts who participated in a
landmark symposium, The Cost of Blindness: What it means to
Canadians, held earlier this year in Toronto.
Among the conclusions addressed, A Clear Vision
identifies the following:
Poor public awareness about age-related eye
diseases and risk factors
Limited public awareness about age-related
macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss for
people over the age of 50
Lack of Canadian research on the incidence and
prevalence of blindness and visual impairment
An aging and declining profession of
ophthalmologists to treat eye disease
Patient backlog for treatment
Inconsistent access to vision-health service
Discriminatory access to AMD treatment
No standard of care for low vision services
Insufficient public access to vision
rehabilitation services and assistive devices programs
Medical profession grossly underestimates impact
of low vision on quality of life
“Given the aging of Canada’s population, vision loss
is becoming a more important public health issue. The need to take
action to prevent and manage vision loss has never been greater,” says
Dr. David Maberley, Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology,
University of British Columbia, and one of the presenters at the
symposium. “This document outlines the causes of age-related vision
loss, demonstrates why Canada is in a crisis of vision loss, analyzes
the costs of prevention and treatment versus doing nothing, and
outlines what we need to do to avert this crisis.”
Canada is currently experiencing an unprecedented
surge in age-related blindness. Driven by the country’s aging
population, incidences of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the
leading cause of blindness, are soaring as baby boomers reach 50 and
60. Cases are expected to triple within 25 years. Baby boomers are
also developing glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy at alarming rates.
Chances of developing irreversible, age-related blindness are more
than one in four by age 75.
Other research presented in A Clear Vision
reveals the real impact of low vision on Canadians’ quality of life.
“People with vision loss are admitted to nursing homes
on average three years earlier than those without vision loss. Their
risk of falls is doubled, their risk of depression is tripled, and
their risk of hip fracture—a leading cause of death in the elderly—is
four times as high. Worst of all, those with AMD are at higher risk of
death,” says Dr. Sanjay Sharma, Associate Professor & Deputy Head,
Department of Ophthalmology, Queen’s University, and another presenter
at the symposium.
AMD, the leading cause of vision loss in Canada,
affects four times the number of Canadians than those with Alzheimer’s
disease and Parkinson’s disease combined, yet disturbingly, the
majority of Canadians know little about it.
“Symptoms can progress quickly – in the most
aggressive and prevalent form of AMD, the wet form, 75 per cent of
vision is lost within the first six months,” says Dr. Patricia Harvey,
Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, University of
Toronto; Director, Retina Unit, University Health Network’s Toronto
Western Division. “People need to be aware of the risk factors and
symptoms of AMD so they can get an early diagnosis. They need to know
that AMD can be stabilized, treated, or managed with vision loss aids
and support services.”
The document points out that while photodynamic
therapy, the only approved treatment in Canada for wet AMD, is proven
to slow the progression of the disease for many people, and improve
the vision in some, not all provinces equally reimburse it. “This
creates an inequity to treatment and means that many people who would
benefit are being forced to make a decision to pay for treatment out
of their own pockets or go blind,” says Dr. Harvey.
“We want to work with Canada’s government leaders to
put vision health on the local, provincial and national agendas,” says
Gerrard Grace, Chair, AMD Alliance International. “We now have a
roadmap to help shape and guide future policy for health-care funding
and support for those with visual loss. It’s time to prevent blindness
and help people with vision loss lead productive, rewarding lives.”
Hosted by The Canadian National Institute for the
Blind (CNIB), in partnership with Canada’s leading vision health
organizations, The Cost of Blindness: What it means to Canadians
symposium examined the real costs of vision loss in the areas of
health, rehabilitation, quality of life, prevention and access to
treatment. It featured national and international experts in the
fields of blindness, low vision and epidemiology who unveiled new
findings as a first step in developing strategies to lower the
prevalence of age-related vision loss and reduce escalating medical
costs.
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For further information or to arrange an interview,
please contact:
Ellen Woodger at 416-483-2358 or
(ellen.woodger@sympatico.ca)
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