Leading Causes of Vision Loss
The leading causes of visual impairment are diseases that are common in elderly persons, including age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, and optic nerve atrophy.
In people over 50, Macular Degeneration is the leading cause of blindness. Recent studies estimate that over 1.6 million older Americans have age-related macular degeneration.
In infants and children, the leading causes of visual impairment are retinopathy of prematurity, deficits in the visual centers of the brain, and eye abnormalities such as cataracts and retina abnormalities.
The fastest growing diagnosis of visual impairment today is Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI), a neurological disorder.
- Macular Degeneration
- Glaucoma
- Diabetic Retinopathy
- Cataracts
- Optic Nerve Atrophy (ONA)
- Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP)
- Retinitis Pigmentosa
- Retinal Detachment
- Acquired (Traumatic) Brain Injury
- Cortical visual impairment (CVI)
Now that you are up to date on the definitions, and on the conditions that are the leading causes of vision loss, you can look forward to the workshop associated with this module. During the workshop, we will “experience” some of these conditions while trying to perform a given task. Stay tuned!