Global cost of correcting vision impairment from uncorrected refractive error

Fricke, Tim; Ba, Holden; Wilson, Daniela A.; Schlenther, Gerhard; Naidoo, KS; Resnikoff, Serge; Frick, KD

doi:10.2471/blt.12.104034

Cited by 229 publications

(175 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The adverse impacts from myopia may also be reflected socioeconomically considering the loss of productivity owing to visual impairment caused by myopia, the cost of treatment for comorbidities of myopia, and the cost of various ways of correction. 15 According to a most recent report published by the World Health Organization (WHO) 57 primarily based on population data acquired in 2007, using the definition of distance vision impairment as a visual acuity worse than 6/18 in the better eye, there were an estimated 158 million cases of distance vision impairment caused by uncorrected refractive error in 2007. Of the 14 subregions of the world included in the WHO report, the number was highest in the Western Pacific Region (61.9 million) followed by the Southeast Asia Region (54.5 million).…”

Section: Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epidemiology of myopia

Foster

Jiang²

2014

Eye

337

270

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Myopia is one of the most prevalent disorders of the eye. Higher myopia is associated with comorbidities that increase risks of severe and irreversible loss of vision, such as retinal detachment, subretinal neovascularization, dense cataract, and glaucoma. In recent years, reports from population-based prevalence studies carried out in various geographical areas now give a clear picture of the current distribution of refractive error. The scarcity of data from well-designed longitudinal cohort studies is still yet to be addressed. These studies have confirmed the previous data indicating that prevalence of refractive error varies according to ethnicity and geographic regions, and also point to an increase in myopia prevalence over the past half-century. The problem is particularly pronounced in affluent, industrialised areas of East Asia. Environmental risk factors for myopia related to socioeconomic status and lifestyle have been identified. The past decade has seen a greater understanding of the molecular biological mechanisms that determine refractive error, giving further support to the belief that myopia is the result of a complex interaction between genetic predisposition and environmental exposures. This review summarizes data on the prevalence, incidence, progression, associations, risk factors, and impact from recent epidemiological studies on myopia.

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Section: Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epidemiology of myopia

Foster

Jiang²

2014

Eye

337

270

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“…These ratios are far less than the WHO recommended standard for 2010 of one refractionist per 100,000 population [27]. The African WHO region with 70.5 million estimated cases of vision impairment due to uncorrected refraction errors have a total of 4,985 existing functional clinical refractionist and thus requires an additional 10,138 [33]. Similarly, the South-east Asia region (196.2 million visual impairment cases) has 12,415 existing functional refractionist requiring an additional 21,651 [33].…”

Section: Case Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Reversing the Trend of Large Scale and Centralization in Manufacturing: The Case of Distributed Manufacturing of Customizable 3-D-Printable Self-Adjustable Glasses

Gwamuri

Wittbrodt

Anzalone

et al. 2014

CiS

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Although the trend in manufacturing has been towards centralization to leverage economies of scale, the recent rapid technical development of open-source 3-D printers enables low-cost distributed bespoke production. This paper explores the potential advantages of a distributed manufacturing model of high-value products by investigating the application of 3-D printing to self-refraction eyeglasses. A series of parametric 3-D printable designs is developed, fabricated and tested to overcome limitations identified with mass-manufactured self-correcting eyeglasses designed for the developing world's poor. By utilizing 3-D printable self-adjustable glasses, communities not only gain access to far more diversity in product design, as the glasses can be customized for the individual, but 3-D printing also offers the potential for significant cost reductions. The results show that distributed manufacturing with open-source 3-D printing can empower developing world communities through the ability to print less expensive and customized self-adjusting eyeglasses. This offers the potential to displace both centrally manufactured conventional and self-adjusting glasses while completely eliminating the costs of the conventional optics correction experience, including those of highly-trained optometrists and ophthalmologists and their associated equipment. Although, this study only analyzed a single product, it is clear that other products would benefit from the same approach in isolated regions of the developing world.

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“…[16][17][18] Because these estimations have been made with correction by spectacles, cost-effectiveness analyses should be considered for refractive surgery.…”

Section: Role Of Modern Refractive Surgery Inmentioning

confidence: 99%