Study reveals extent of undiagnosed error

A study into visual impairment due to undiagnosed refractive error has revealed that almost two out of every 100 working age adults in Britain, approximately 181,000 45-59 year-olds, have a functionally significant level of undiagnosed refractive error.

The findings were extrapolated from a study, to be published in September's British Journal of Ophthalmology, which looked at 9,271 individuals born in 1958 aged 44 to 45. Of those surveyed, 144 (1.6 per cent) had undiagnosed refractive error, 24 (18 per cent) of whom were classifiable as visually impaired.

Funded by the Medical Research Council, the study was conducted by epidemiologists from University College London Institute of Child Health, Great Ormond Street Hospital and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology.