AMD Alliance International: For the first time, the cost estimate of vision loss worldwide, which imposes a heavy burden on health systems and the global economy, has been published
Moreover - these expenses are going to increase by the year 2020 at a dramatic rate, unless effective strategies for prevention and treatment are adopted worldwide. The current cost includes direct expenses for medical treatment, time of informal caregivers, loss of productivity and inefficiency resulting from the increase in the tax burden to finance the medical treatments.
"The findings of the study are the most recent data regarding the cost of vision loss worldwide" said Professor Alan Croes, Professor at Deleuze University in Canada and Director of the Department of Ophthalmology, as well as Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of AMD Alliance International. Dr. Penny Hartin, CEO of the World Blind Union, adds that "Due to the continuous increase in the world's population, it is clear to us that these expenses will rise steeply, and the burden on the health systems around the world will increase, unless we now take steps to prevent this. The groundbreaking research gives us the necessary tools to promote the issue at the UN and among government officials."
Recommendations to reduce the burden
The financial burden that results from vision impairment, as shown in the research, can be reduced through the early implementation of national vision preservation programs, including effective prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of vision impairment. The experts for promoting vision and preventing blindness from the AMD Alliance International organization, and the people of the World Association of the Blind, jointly formulated five main recommendations:
- frequent examinations for diabetics and the elderly who are at high risk of retinopathy (damage to the retina), macular degeneration and glaucoma;
- more training in cataract surgery for doctors in developing countries;
- Greater availability of affordable glasses for vision correction;
- Financing and distribution of drugs for the treatment of river blindness and trachoma in the relevant populations;
- Early treatment of children's eye diseases, including cataracts and glaucoma.
As part of the study, the costs arising from vision loss in special conditions of the eyes were also examined. This is how it was found in a study by the AMDAI organization that the cost of vision impairment as a result of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) alone amounts to 343 billion dollars, including 255 billion dollars as direct expenses for medical treatment. It was also found that the proportion of the burden originating from age-related macular degeneration out of the total economic burden is higher in developed countries where life expectancy is higher and expenses for medical treatment are higher.
In the study, the medical burden of vision impairment worldwide was also evaluated in DALY units (Disability-Adjusted Life Years), the index chosen by the World Health Organization (WHO). Thus it was found that in 2010 people with visual impairment will be deprived of a total life span equal to 118 million years of healthy life due to disability and premature death, with age-related macular degeneration responsible for 6 million years of that. The research report stated that if current trends continue, the health burden in 2020 will reach 150 million years of healthy life.
"The agency commends AMD Alliance International and Access Economic for conducting this important study. The study provides additional evidence on the costs of copying and the damage caused by blindness and visual impairment to the global economy," said Peter Ackland, CEO of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB). "Ironically, 80 percent of cases of blindness can be prevented, and the recognized and proven solutions to this difficult global problem are available within the framework of the VISION 2000 program. The cost of implementing these solutions is a fraction of the amount of three trillion dollars, which according to the research report is the annual cost of vision impairment. For this reason, we at the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness join the AMD Alliance's call for immediate action and recommend everyone who is concerned about the developments and the spread of poverty to read the research report."
"Although estimates of the costs of medical care for the visually impaired in certain countries have been published in the past, this is the first time that an estimate of the costs worldwide from a social perspective has been published," said Steve Wynyard, director of public policy at RNIB, economic advisor to the AMD Alliance International organization and former "R" of the organization. "In addition to the direct expenses for medical treatment, we must not ignore the ongoing and significant expenses that burden the economy in certain areas. In fact, we estimate that 17 percent of the total cost worldwide is caused by the loss of productivity of people living with the disability, premature death due to vision impairment and the value of the time of those who provide informal care. These findings highlight the costs of copying as a result of vision loss worldwide and the need to deal with the causes from a global perspective. We can no longer afford to sit and wait."
About AMD Alliance International and the Access Economics research report
AMD Alliance international is the only international organization in the world that deals exclusively with promoting awareness of macular degeneration - the leading cause of vision loss in developed countries - treatment and research. The organization includes the leading organizations in the world that deal with vision, elderly organizations and research organizations from 25 countries.
In the research report, prepared by Access Economics and AMD Alliance International, the researchers estimate the direct costs, the indirect costs and the health burden as a result of visual impairment between the years 2010 and 2020, and it includes a series of sensitivity analyses. The study used a series of health and economic indicators around the world, in order to gauge data between regions and provide "as close an estimate as possible" of the burden as a result of vision loss worldwide. The press release includes findings relative to the baseline scenario.
One response
Developing countries?.. Somewhere in the valley I've been waiting for four months for cataract surgery, which will be in two months in general health insurance and more with perfect insurance..