Eye problems or conditions affect many people in the United States and around the world. Unfortunately, the statistics point in the direction that show that as time goes on the prevalence of eye conditions among the population will get worse and worse. As a college student, you are at a risk of developing eye conditions due to the nature of the lifestyle associated with being a student. With this, it is important to note, that besides the more serious conditions described below, there are other conditions including eye strain and dry eye which can create serious health problems, and can have great impact on daily life.
Sources: Compiled Data from: Statista.com, Vitale et. al (2008) and Quigley and Broman (2006.)
The three conditions mentioned in the above figure show the “top three” diseases which strike the American population as far as eye problems go. These conditions typically increase in prevalence with age and create more and more problems when linked to certain other environmental conditions and behavioral choices. Below you can find more information on these problems and get a better understanding of why they are specifically a problem for college students.
Myopia
Myopia is an eye condition that is more commonly referred to as “nearsightedness.” This means that objects within a short distance of your eyes are clearly seen, while objects
farther away are blurry. Myopia is stemmed from problems with refraction (or bending) of the light waves that enter the eye. In a healthy eye, the light enters the cornea and lens and is perfectly directed to the retina leading to a clear image. A myopic eye focuses the light far from the retina and rather places it onto the middle of the eye, creating the blurriness. With this, myopia can arise from an elongated eyeball from front to back, as well as an overly curved cornea or an overly thick lens.
Myopia is diagnosed at a normal eye care appointment. You may be experiencing signs of myopia when it is easy to read a book, phone or a computer but more difficult to look at things further away such as TV’s or signs on the road when driving. Treatment for myopia is normally as simple as getting glasses or contacts to correct the vision impairment caused by the improper refraction of light (National Eye Institute).
The prevalence of myopia among people around the world and within the United States is what makes it very concerning. As seen in the chart, nearly 35 million people in the US have this condition, which is a tremendous amount from the start. To look at it even closer, another study estimates that nearly half of the US population ages 20 and older have myopia to some degree showing the vast amounts of people that this condition affects (Vitale et. al 2008).
Why should college students care about myopia?
About half of the US population twenty years and older has myopia meaning college students are now in the “at risk population”. On top of this, new studies are finding that with greater amounts of education, comes a higher rate of myopia in individuals (Morgan et al., Saw and Cheng et. al). Theses two studies found that when the pressure for advanced education in individuals was higher, better test scores would follow for those individuals. This lead to the discovery that with increased test scores came increased amounts of myopia cases among participants.
College students and individuals pursuing advanced degrees would seem to have extreme amounts of education and pressure placed on them leading to an increased chance of developing this condition. While the research could not determine causality for this correlation, it can be hypothesized that higher education is correlated with higher amounts of time studying, reading books and using the computer close to your face. These activities over a large period of time, allow your eyes time to not have to focus on things far away, leading to good nearsightedness, but poor farsightedness. To minimize these problems please see the 20-20-20 rule.
Recently a very interesting protective factor has been discovered to help individuals avoid myopia. Believe it or not, simply being outdoors has been found to protect against the development of myopia in individuals. Studies conducted in Australia and China found that children who were outside for longer periods of time had a much less chance of developing myopia compared to children who were inside more often (Rose and Morgan et. al, Pan et. al). With this, college students tend to spend a lot of time in the library doing work. So… go outside and take a break! It is important to take breaks often and go outside, get fresh air and rest your eyes. While Myopia can be corrected with glasses and contacts, it is much better to have a healthy pair of eyes that requires no correction!
Cataracts
Eyes are very delicate. They require many precise and intricate events for them to properly take in light and turn it into what we know as vision. To accomplish this vision however, the eye utilizes many different proteins and optic solutions to properly allow the light to enter, and reflect on the retina (the part of the eye that absorbs the light and then sends signals through optic nerve to the brain where they are processed.) Sometimes proteins in the eye begin to clump together, or become altered into a state where they begin to block the light as it enters the eye. This blocks the retina from receiving light, limiting the ability to see clearly. With time the accumulation of these clumps form what is known as a cataract.
At first, cataracts may go unnoticed and may show no major symptoms to the individual. Overtime, however, the individual may begin to experience substances floating through their field of view restricting their vision. Eventually, the build up of altered substances can lead to a point of extreme blurry vision, and eventually total blindness. To remove cataracts the typical course of treatment is cataract surgery (which can be seen here.) To date, this is the best treatment for this condition, with a success rate around 90% for all patients who undergo it. While the surgery has very high rates of success, it is still very expensive and still hosts many of the risks involved with a surgical procedure.
Why are cataracts important to college students?
College students are not at risk for cataracts due to their age, but the college lifestyle creates its own set of risks for the development of cataracts in general. Most people know that smoking is a problem for your lungs, but studies have found it is also linked to cataracts. The Blue Mountain Eye Study found that smokers have a 50% higher chance of developing cataracts, develop them 2 years earlier than non-smokers, and need more advanced surgery (Tan 2008). Sun exposure is also a factor that leads to cataracts. To mitigate this problem, it is recommended that individuals use sunglasses when outdoors and also avoid looking directly at the sun. Also, when driving try keeping a pair of sunglasses in your car- even when the sun isn’t bright it can still cause damage to your eyes!
Glaucoma:
Glaucoma is a disease that is not reversible. Rather, it can only be slowed down. While there are many types of glaucoma, each is rooted in a deterioration of the optic nerve, which is often caused by an increase in pressure in the eye from failed drainage of fluids. The optic nerve is responsible for carrying visual information to the brain. This high pressure typically goes unnoticed and creates a gradual loss of vision starting from the peripheral (outer) vision slowly leading to complete vision loss. (Mayo Clinic 2016, Quigley 2011)
Glaucoma is unfortunately on the rise within the global populatio
n. One study conducted by Quigley and Broman estimated that in 2020 there will be 79.6 million cases of glaucoma worldwide as compared to the 60.5 million in 2010. On top of this, they also found that in 2010, nearly eight million people were completely blind from glaucoma. The current projections show that by 2020, the total glaucoma induced blindness will be around eleven million people, an incredibly high figure (Quigley and Broman 2006). Glaucoma is clearly striking the population more and more and is said to affect more than 110 million people by 2040 (Tham 2014). It is critical that we address it early on to protect our vision!
Why is knowing about glaucoma necessary for college students?
It is recommended that students get normal vision check ups, which normally includes a glaucoma test. A glaucoma test is normally completed by putting a puff of air into the eye to test the pressure, or by conducting a visual inspection of the shape and color of the optic nerve. It is also recommended that students discuss with their families any history with glaucoma as it has a genetic link to it.
Also note, that other health problems can lead to glaucoma including diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. If any of these are of concern to you, let your doctor know when getting an eye checkup so that you can take a proactive step to your health.
See also:
Much of the material and information about common symptoms and descriptions of diseases was taken from the Mayo Clinic’s review paper on Eye Care and Vision as you age.
Eyes on Your Eyes 