Healthy Vision Month — May 2015

MMWR Weekly Vol. 64, No. 19 May 22, 2015

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Healthy Vision Month — May 2015

Weekly

May 22, 2015 / 64(19);513-513

May is Healthy Vision Month, a national observance devoted to encouraging persons to make vision and eye health a priority. CDC's Vision Health Initiative partners with the National Eye Institute's National Eye Health Education Program to educate the public about vision loss prevention and eye health promotion.

Early detection, timely treatment, and use of protective eyewear are the best ways to maintain eye health and prevent or delay vision impairment, defined as the best-corrected visual acuity <20/40 in the better-seeing eye (1). Nearly 38 million persons in the United States have common eye diseases such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and cataracts (2).

Regular, comprehensive, dilated eye examination is the only way to detect vision problems and eye diseases in their early stages. The American Academy of Ophthalmology and American Optometric Association recommend regular, comprehensive, dilated eye examination to detect vision problems and eye diseases in their early states for all persons aged ≥65 years and younger persons with diabetes or risk factors for glaucoma (3,4). Additional information about vision and eye health is available at http://www.cdc.gov/visionhealth and http://www.nei.nih.gov/healthyeyes.

References

1. CDC. Enhancing public health surveillance of visual impairment and eye health in the United States. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2012.
2. National Eye Institute. Healthy Vision Month. Available at https://www.nei.nih.gov/hvm/infographic.
3. American Academy of Ophthalmology Preferred Practice Patterns Committee. Comprehensive adult medical eye evaluation. San Francisco, CA: American Academy of Ophthalmology; 2010. Available at http://www.guideline.gov/content.aspx?id=25644#section420.
4. American Optometric Association. Recommended eye examination frequency for pediatric patients and adults. Available at http://www.aoa.org/patients-and-public/caring-for-your-vision/comprehensive-eye-and-vision-examination/recommended-examination-frequency-for-pediatric-patients-and-adults?sso=y.

* Information available at http://www.cdc.gov/visionhealth/pdf/improving_nations_vision_health.pdf .

† Information available at http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/SubjectDefinitions/2013_ACSSubjectDefinitions.pdf .

§ Information available at http://www.census.gov/acs/www/methodology/response_rates_data.

¶ Information available at http://dataferrett.census.gov/TheDataWeb/index.html.

** Information available at http://forecasting.preventblindness.org.

†† Information available at http://www.cdc.gov/visionhealth/basic_information/eye_disorders.htm.

§§ Information available at http://www.cdc.gov/visionhealth/healthyvisionmonth/index.htm.

¶¶ Information available at http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/p70-131.pdf .