Importance of Healthy Eye Aging
Raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of vision loss — and steps to help seniors take care of their sight. Importance of eye examination AAO recommendations for healthy eyes.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends the frequency for adult comprehensive medical eye examinations for asymptomatic patients, and for patients who do not have risk factors for eye disease, is as follows: under 40 years — every 5 to 10 years; 40 to 54 years — every 2 to 4 years; 55 to 64 years — every 1 to 3 years; and 65 years or older — every 1 to 2 years.
In 2015, about 1.02 million adults 40 and older in the United States were legally blind (distance corrected visual acuity of ≤20/200, or a visual field of ≤20 degrees in the better seeing eye), and an additional 3.22 million were visually impaired (distance corrected visual acuity of < 20/40 in the better seeing eye.1
An increased frequency of comprehensive medical eye examinations is recommended for adults who have risk factors for ocular diseases such as cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration. Despite gains in our knowledge about how to manage these diseases, many poor people and ethnic minorites in the US do not have adequate access to eye care. 2
1. Source: Varma R, Vajaranant TS, Burkemper B, et al. Visual impairment and blindness in adults in the United States: Demographic and geographic variations from 2015 to 2050. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2016;134:802-809.
2. Sources: 2015; Comprehensive Adult Medical Eye Evaluation Preferred Practice Patterns Varma R, Vajaranant TS, Burkemper B, et al. Visual impairment and blindness in adults in the United States: Demographic and geographic variations from 2015 to 2050. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2016;134:802-809.