Eye disease on rise as boomers age

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As aging baby boomers face vision problems, eye disease may become America's "biggest fear," according to report released Wednesday by the National Eye Institute and Prevent Blindness America, a leading volunteer group.

"This report says that more than 1 million Americans age 40 years and over are blind from eye disease. Another 2.3 million Americans are visually impaired," said Dr. Paul Sieving, director of the National Eye Institute, one of the National Institutes of Health.

According to the report, which used data from the 2000 census, the numbers will double over the next 30 years for the baby boomer generation.

"Blindness, among all health problems, is one of our biggest fears. Yet one of the major risk factors for developing serious visual impairment is something that none of us can avoid because this risk happens to all of us," Sieving said.

The vision report, a collaboration between the National Eye Institute and Prevent Blindness America, examined major sight-threatening eye diseases such as cataract, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma, the latter characterized as the "silent thief of sight."

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Prevent Blindness America, a leading volunteer eye health and safety organization, called for $5 million vision program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help close the gap between research and prevention.

The CDC does not currently have a vision program to implement preventive measures to curtail eye diseases and address the impending crisis for older Americans.

"Our nation's leaders must be better informed so that they can raise treatment of eye disease on the nation's health agenda," said Daniel Garrett, vice president of Prevent Blindness America, a leading volunteer eye health and safety organization.

"These statistics are critical for planning future vision research efforts and in evaluating new treatments. The federal government and the private sector both need to play a role in addressing this important health priority," Sieving said.

The National Eye Institute conducts research aimed at improving the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of diseases.