2023-10-11 08:37:43
Seven out of ten Spaniards believe that the view makes us enjoy life more. However, stress and anxiety are conditions that can seriously affect the eyes. Within the framework of World Sight Day, October 12, the III Barometer of Ocular Health has been presented in which we Spaniards pass our ocular well-being index.
Image provided by Miranza
70% of the Spanish people They attach great importance to sight to enjoy life. However the stress and anxiety It affects our eye health and makes us enter a loop far from the well-being that our eyes need to be able to make the most of life.
On the occasion of World Sight Day, October 12, the Miranza Group of Ophthalmology Clinics has published the III Eye Health Barometerfor which for the third consecutive year it has prepared a survey of a thousand people.
The study has had the collaboration of the doctora Itziar Martínez Soroa, ophthalmologist from Miranza Begitek (San Sebastián) and Dr. Jorge Alió del Barrio, ophthalmologist from Vissum Grupo Miranza (Alicante).
According to the index included in the study, we achieved only a fair pass in our ocular state, with a 5.22 out of 10, practically the same as last year. The women on the one hand, and, in general, the people of working age are those that present a worst ocular well-being index.
The barometer shows that despite the importance we give to our vision, only 3% of the population respondent considers her ocular well-being as good or excellent. Yes ok, the majority (75%) perceive your health as “reasonable”.
However, there are many other issues that the barometer analyzes. Among them, the effect of stress and periods of anxiety about our vision or the future of our eye health.
Habits that affect eye health
Stress
He stress and lack of sleep They affect a significant part of the population and this has negative consequences on visual health.
The doctor Jorge Alió del Barrio maintains: “Currently, we are suffering the consequences of two epidemics that impact ocular health and well-being and one of them is anxiety and stress.” The other is the abuse of screens.
The specialist explains that in addition to directly causing some pathology such as central serous chorioretinopathy, disease that affects the retina, Stress and anxiety are responsible for having a increased risk of diabetes sleep problems, eating disorders and migraines, which affects vision and worsens processes such as dry eye.
He 51% of people surveyed for the barometer affirms have stress to different degrees. Of them, 61% are women. Furthermore, the 38% consider what does not sleep or take care of rest enough.
Of the people who claim to have stress, 67% believe that their eye health is correct, good or excellent, compared to 82% of people who acknowledge the same but do not suffer from stress. In the case of lack of sleep, the difference is lessbut its impact is also confirmed.
The use of screens
On the other hand, the screen abuse It increases childhood myopia and threatens the ocular well-being of people with eyestrain, dry eyes and especially menopause.
He Dr. Alió del Barrio states that calculations establish that by the year 2050, 50% of the population will be short-sighted.
From left to right: Dr. Jorge Alió del Barrio; Ángeles Blanco, journalist and presenter of the Barometer; Dr. Itziar Martínez Soroa and Ramón Berra, general director of Miranza. Image provided.
Five recommendations to take care of our visual health and prevent eye problems
Pay attention to and treat stress and anxiety as a preventive measure, also for vision.
Take care of habits such as sleep and eatingactive life outdoors instead of sedentary lifestyle and screens, and avoiding alcohol and tobacco consumption.
New tools to address increased myopia in children and adolescents (atropine eye drops) and presbyopia (premium surgery with personalized lenses)
Periodic check-ups and trust in the level of ophthalmologists and in the advances in this field of medicine, with increasingly better and more personalized solutions: for dry eye, refractive surgery, AMD…
Responsible use of contact lenses and evaluate the option of refractive surgery in adulthood, as an alternative with higher satisfaction rates and a higher rate of safety and efficacy.
On the other hand, to prevent possible eye problems, Dr. Alió del Barrio advises taking visual breaks looking into the distance and increase outdoor activityin addition to evaluating treatment with atropine eye drops, a medication that serves to stop myopia, especially in children.
Main conclusions of the barometer
Two epidemics that threaten vision: excessive use of screens (myopia, accommodation/presbyopia and dry eye) and anxiety/stress. The Habits greatly affect the eyes: Vicious cycle of stress (diet, sleep, smoking…) implies direct problems with the eyes. TO older, more problems: presbyopiaa vision problem that makes it difficult to see close up, cataracts, glaucoma…
Forty years It is the crucial age: onset of presbyopia and vision “begins to fail”
Lack of awareness and action (not only knowing it, but also acting, taking care of habits and with periodic reviews), although Spain stands out above most countries.
Increasingly better and more personalized solutions: for dry eye, refractive surgery…there is no reason for “fatalism” when it comes to eye problems, a belief or attitude that abounds, above all, in people of working age.
Refractive errors, including presbyopia, lead the ranking of eye problems and generate greater concern regarding the state of ocular health and well-being. He robotic portrait of the ophthalmological patient in Spain is very similar to the previous year. The evolution of ocular well-being of the Spanish is a long-distance race, with fruits in the medium-long term. Infographic extracted from the barometer that reflects the robotic portrait of people with eye problems. Image provided.
How can we avoid vision loss?
Las main difficulties affect the close vision: problems reading, driving, using the computer, practicing hobbies that require greater vision effort…
Thus, a significant percentage of people They consider that having a visual problem promotes social isolation. Specifically 23% of people consider that their vision problems affect their ability to socialize y 18% maintain that their vision It influences your desire to leave the house.
Likewise, the barometer developed by Miranza also reflects that more than half of Spaniards of any age group considers that vision loss cannot be avoided. Only four out of ten consider that it is possible to avoid the loss.
However, We Spaniards can still improve our well-being eyepiece that is at 5.22 points, which represents a scraped pass.
One of the main conclusions of the study is the little awareness about lifestyle, eye health and how by taking care of the first we can prevent eye problems.
Furthermore, experts say that In general, society is unaware of the great advances that we have to solve eye problemswith minimally invasive surgeries for
refractive surgery, cataracts and presbyopia with premium lenses, corneal transplants or applied technology for dry eye treatments, among others.
#Stress #habits #affect #eye #health