Stat Tracker

African-Americans Need to Make Vision Care a Priority

Vision problems disproportionately affect African-Americans. Glaucoma, for example, is five times more common in this group than in Caucasians and four times more likely to cause blindness.

It is particularly important for African-Americans to have regular eye exams. An eye care professional may not only detect vision conditions and the need for updated spectacle and contact lens prescriptions, but may also help detect other health concerns, such as diabetes and hypertension, conditions that disproportionately impact African-Americans as well.

Medicare covers an annual comprehensive dilated eye exam for patients at high risk for glaucoma and diabetes. There is also a program sponsored by the American Optometric Association that offers free comprehensive infant eye examinations to children within the first year of life, called InfantSEE. For information on the InfantSEE program visit their Web site at www.infantsee.org.

Increased Risks for African Americans

It is estimated that African-Americans are 1.8 times more likely to have diabetes than Caucasians and 1.5 times more likely to die from heart disease or stroke.

More than nine out of 10 African-American respondents (93%) agree that maintaining proper vision is an important priority to them. Yet 21% say they do not have a regular eye care professional and one-quarter (24%) say it has been more than 2 years since their last eye exam.

It is estimated that nearly one in four school-age children have vision problems and one out of 10 teenagers have undetected or untreated vision problems. However, almost one-third (30%) of African-American parents surveyed report that their child has never seen an eye care professional.

Study Findings

Other survey findings, which evaluated a variety of vision care attitudes and practices, include the following:

► Four in five African-Americans (79%) say people should get their eyes examined at least once a year. However, less than half (47%) of African-Americans have had an eye exam within the past year.

► Only two-thirds (66%) of African-Americans know exactly what nearsightedness is; three in five (61%) know exactly what farsightedness is; less than half (43%) know exactly what astigmatism is.

► African-Americans are unfamiliar with available treatment for vision conditions.

► One-third (34%) do not know there is treatment for astigmatism.

► One-quarter (23%) do not know there is treatment for glaucoma.

► Presbyopia typically begins after age 40, yet only one in five African-Americans (21%) know exactly what it is and nearly two-thirds (64%) of African-Americans do not know there is treatment for the condition. OM

About These Data:
The Americans' Attitudes & Perceptions About Vision Care is a survey of 3,700 Americans conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of The Vision Care Institute, LLC, A Johnson & Johnson Company in 2006. Adults of varying ethnic backgrounds (African-Americans, Hispanics, Asian-Americans, and Caucasians) expressed their attitudes toward, perceptions of and experiences with vision care in the nationwide survey.