Blindness, visual impairment rates drop sharply

Medicine has not completely eradicated blindness and vision problems, but rates are dropping in developed countries, according to a study published on March 24, 2014 by BMJ, the British medical journal  

The study found that blindness rates have dropped 50 percent in Europe, and by lesser amounts in the U.S. and Canada.

Overall, 50 countries across the globe saw a nearly 40 percent drop from 1990 to 2010 of people suffering from moderate to severe visual impairment.

Women in the U.S. are more likely than men to be impacted by vision problems.

The lower rates can be partly attributed to a better understanding by vision and blindness prevention experts on how to treat many eye conditions.

"Ophthalmology has stepped forward in a quicker pace than most other specialties, just by the nature of all of the research that is going into it and how much we care about our eyes," said Dr. Michael Wong of Wills Laser Vision in Princeton.

Doctors are also advancing new and better treatments for cataracts and macular degeneration with surgical techniques and treatments. These advances are coming despite an overall increase in the average age of the population.

Overall, according to Wong, it's a combination of new surgeries and technologies, better prevention and more knowledge, that is helping to drive down the rates of blindness and visual impairments.