The NHS may be seriously underestimating the number of people with sight loss caused by age-related macular degeneration (AMD), with new research pointing out that 40,000 people develop wet AMD each year.
The study in the British Journal of Ophthalmology reported that the NHS and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence have previously used a much lower estimate of 26,000 new cases a year. It suggested that a further 44,000 people a year were also diagnosed with dry AMD.
The Macular Disease Society (MDS), which funded the research, said that the prevalence of AMD increased exponentially with age, roughly quadrupling every decade of life, with one in 2,000 affected at 60, rising to more than one in five by the age of 90.
The analysis of published data on AMD concluded there were likely to be more than half a million people living with late-stage AMD in the UK, a figure that would rise to 650,000 by 2020.
Lead investigator, Dr Christopher Owen, senior lecturer in epidemiology, St George’s, University of London said: ‘This work suggests that the number of people developing macular degeneration has been underestimated to date and that far more might benefit from treatment or are in need of advice about coping with the condition, especially in the elderly.’ He added that with treatments existing for some of those with wet AMD, there was a need to find treatments for the similar number with dry AMD.
Helen Jackman (pictured), chief executive of the MDS said: ‘This is a very important and welcome piece of research, it reveals the real impact of AMD and demonstrates the need for government and the NHS to give this a higher priority.’
She urged politicians and health and care planners to recognise the significance of the condition and ensure proper provision was made.