The Cost of Vision Loss in Canada: Summary Report - CNIB

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Vision Loss and EthnicityVision loss prevalence can vary greatly depending on gender,age and ethnicity.Generally, the study based projections on two groupings: Caucasians and visibleminorities. Further overall breakdowns based on ethnicity were not possible givendeficiencies in large-scale Canadian studies. However, in some cases data wassupplemented with smaller studies on specific minority populations.Some findings based on ethnicity:• People who are Caucasian have somewhat higher rates of overall vision loss inCanada compared to visible minorities.• There are many differences for specific eye conditions. For example:o Older (60+) visible minority women have the highest rates of cataract whileelderly visible minority males have the lowest rates.o Men from visible minority populations have high rates of glaucoma.o Caucasians are more likely to have vision loss from AMD than African-Canadians, while the reverse is true for refractive error.o Chinese-Canadians have double the rate of AMD compared to Caucasians andmay have twice the rate of diabetic retinopathy. Chinese-Canadian children aremore likely to experience nearsightedness than children who are Caucasian.o Aboriginal Canadians have higher rates of diabetic retinopathy. Inuitpopulations have much higher rates of primary open-angle glaucoma.• These variations reflect differences in treatment access and genetic factors.• Despite the fact that the visible minority share of Canada’s population is rapidlyincreasing, this group’s share of vision loss may not rise significantly in the next25 years, largely due to a younger age profile as a result of immigration.However, this may be offset by increases in diabetic retinopathy, which are alsoanticipated as a result of immigration.The Cost of Vision Loss in Canada: Summary Report13
The Future of Vision LossUnless we do something about it, the costs of vision loss areonly going to rise rapidly in future, making our health caresystem even more overburdened and taking a greater toll onCanadians.• In the next 25 years, the number of Canadians with vision loss is projected todouble.• The number affected will top one million in the next five years and continueescalating.Based on current projections, the financial expendituresassociated with vision loss would cost Canadians $30.3 billion by2032 (in 2007 dollars).• For some eye diseases, prevalence is increasing faster than population growthacross all age groups.• However, most of the projected increase is due to Canada’s rapidly agingpopulation (often called the demographic tsunami) combined with the fact thatCanada’s major eye conditions are age-related.• In 2006, one in seven Canadians was 65 years or older. By 2032, it will be one infour.14The Cost of Vision Loss in Canada: Summary Report
Page 2 and 3: BackgroundIn 2008, CNIB and the Can
Page 4 and 5: Who Pays the Costs?All of us pay th
Page 6 and 7: Comparison to Other DiseasesWhen co
Page 8 and 9: Indirect CostsJust as important as
Page 10 and 11: Profile of Vision LossVision loss i
Page 13: Causes of Vision LossGlaucomaGlauco
Page 17 and 18: A Call to ActionCanada urgently nee
Page 19 and 20: Appendix BCosts of Vision Loss by T
Page 21 and 22: 1Table has been adapted from Buhrma
Page 23 and 24: 1Direct costs were calculated by ta
Page 25: Notes24 The Cost of Vision Loss in

The Cost of Vision Loss in Canada: Summary Report - CNIB

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