A study highlighted a lack of clinical research to address the leasing causes of severe sight impairment among 18-64 year olds in the UK.
Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and the University of Oxford noted that this costs the UK economy at estimated £7.4bn annually.
Lead author Dr Jasleen Jolly from ARU, said: ‘These findings emphasise the need to understand and address not only the leading causes of sight loss in the UK population as a whole, but also to prioritise conditions that severely impact working-age individuals to reduce the health and socioeconomic impacts of sight loss.’
The study, which was published Clinical Ophthalmology, found degeneration of the macula and posterior pole was the leading cause of severe sight impairment certification and has the most research activity.
However, hereditary retinal disorders were the predominant cause of severe sight impairment certification in the working-age population and clinical studies focused on this group of conditions was substantially smaller than those on macular degeneration.