Ageing Population

AGEING POPULATION

Demographics currently indicate that the percentage of seniors in the Canadian population is rapidly increasing.  According to Statistics Canada, by the year 2015, seniors (65+) will outnumber children (15 years and under).  By 2031, there will be 9 million seniors and only 5 million children in Canada; seniors will represent approximately 25% of Canada’s total population.[i]

 Currently, the “Baby Boomers,” who are in their early sixties and are expected to live longer than previous generations, are beginning to experience deteriorating vision.  This is the result of an association between ageing and certain eye diseases and conditions, which can cause visual impairment and blindness.  The most common of these are: age-related macular degeneration (AMD); cataracts; glaucoma; and diabetic retinopathy. Low birth rates, coupled with the increased longevity in Canada’s population, are giving rise to fears about health care provision for an ageing, visually impaired population.  Even now, the direct and indirect economic cost of vision loss in Canada is estimated at just below eight billion  dollars annually.[ii] If this situation is not managed strategically, the looming crisis may evolve beyond our control. 

 Clearly, Canada’s ageing population should be an area of concern for the ophthalmic industry.  Demography will impact the eye care industry and should be a focus of current discussions, in which we must ask the following questions: Can we manage the number of seniors coming to eye care professionals for their visual requirements?  Will we be able to address their changing visual requirements?  Do we have the workforce (human resource) capacity to service what is now a market niche, but will soon become the dominant market?

 Review of Age-related Diseases/Conditions:

 Vision is central to being independent and remaining safe.  Seniors who experience visual loss also lose a certain amount of their independence, which dramatically alters the quality of their lives.  The following diseases/conditions affect hundreds of thousands of Canadian seniors each year. 

1.  At approximately age 40, changes occur within the visual system that result in decreased visual acuity. The normal ageing process brings about a decrease in one’s ability to see sharply and to focus.  This state, referred to as presbyopia, is correctable with reading glasses or bifocals.[iii]
2.  Age Related Macular Degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in the Western world      and is prevalent in people aged 65+. 
3.  Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in the world, according to the World Health Organization.
4. Glaucoma can also cause age-related vision loss, as pressure builds in the eye and the nerve fibers within the retina are destroyed. 
5.  Diabetic retinopathy is a condition that is secondary to diabetes.

 

 I will cover these diseases/conditions in more detail in later blog.

Current Status- Age-related Diseases and Ageing:

Researchers in Canadian universities and hospitals have made great strides in developing treatments for some of these conditions/diseases.  Improvements in drug and laser therapy have increased our understanding of how to slow the progression of certain eye diseases.  Research is presently being conducted on gene replacement therapy, optical implants, and stem cell transplants, all of which were not a possibility just ten years ago.

Notwithstanding the progress being made in the field, we must still be concerned by the fact that as the Canadian population ages, the ophthalmic industry may need to undergo tremendous adjustments.  The rapidly ageing baby boomers will be faced with physiological and functional changes in their vision, and will subsequently turn to eye care professionals.  However, despite the predicted increase in vision loss in Canada, we will experience a shortage of eye care professionals.  Meeting the needs of seniors will become difficult as wait lists to see ophthalmologists grow.  Additionally, the high demand for operating rooms for eye surgeries will only increase, considering the looming demographic crisis.

 

Noreen Khan 

---

[i] Statistics Canada. The Daily: Population Projections. Available at: http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/051215/d051215b.htm.

Accessed September 17, 2007.

[ii] AMD Canada. News and Media- A Crisis of Vision.  Available at: http://www.amdcanada.com/template.

Accessed September 17, 2007.

[iii] Every Eye. Old Age Vision: Age Related Vision Impairment Explained.  Available at: http://www.everyeye.co.uk/htms/oldAgeVision.htm.  Accessed September 6, 2007.

 

---