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Social factors like where someone lives and how much money they earn can affect their health, including risk of vision loss.
Social determinants are key drivers of health inequities—especially among people from racial and ethnic minority groups. Health inequities increase the risk of poor health outcomes. It is essential to reduce and eliminate these disparities to reach health equity.
Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the nonmedical conditions that shape people’s daily lives and influence their health. They include where people live, learn, work, and play.
The following social factors play an important role in vision loss:
People with lower incomes are less likely to access preventive care, including an eye exam. They are also less likely to be able to afford eyeglasses and more likely to have vision loss due to diabetic retinopathy.1234
People with less than a high school education are less likely to have had an eye care visit in the last year compared to people with more than a high school education.1
Neighborhood safety can impact physical activity, weight management, blood sugar levels, and stress. These are all factors that affect someone’s risk for diabetes, which can lead to vision loss.5
People living with a disability such as vision impairment or blindness report having more problems accessing care. Common issues include cost, insurance coverage, transportation, and refusal of services by providers. People with vision impairment are also more likely to be uninsured compared to people without.6
Addressing these barriers is key to eliminating health disparities and reaching vision health equity.
Vision loss ranks among the top 10 causes of disability in the United States. About 7 million Americans have vision impairment, including 1 million who are blind.7 These numbers are expected to double by 2050 due to population aging and increases in chronic diseases that can lead to vision loss.8
The risk for eye disease varies by race/ethnicity, age, and sex. In addition, having a chronic health condition (such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart disease) can increase risk. Behavioral factors such as smoking and being physically inactive also increase the risk of vision loss.
Data spreadsheet for Figure 1.
Research shows that SDOH are also linked to vision loss.9 A recent study found that people who reported having visual difficulty were more likely to:
Learn more about the CDC’s Vision Health Initiative and its partnerships to advance vision health equity.
The Vision Health Initiative focuses on preventing and managing eye disease, eye injury, and vision loss resulting in disability.
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