Study reveals combined Andhra Pradesh had 51% incidence of presbyopia

Time of India

10-05-2025

Visakhapatnam: A 15-year follow-up of 5,395 participants from the erstwhile combined Andhra Pradesh (encompassing both present-day AP and Telangana), originally examined between 1996 and 2000, revealed an incidence of presbyopia (an age-related decline in near vision) of 51%.
While the global prevalence of presbyopia among individuals aged 30 and over is estimated at about 25%, there remains a dearth of long-term incidence studies—particularly in India, where previous studies have primarily focussed on prevalence, reporting a 33% prevalence of uncorrected presbyopia.
Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study
III (APEDS III), which involved nearly 5,400 participants, aimed to assess the incidence of presbyopia and identify socio-demographic risk factors among individuals aged 16 years and above at baseline.The study revealed several notable independent risk factors for incident presbyopia, including age, educational level, and hypertension.
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In particular, participants with higher baseline education tended to be more myopic and were thereby at a lower risk of developing presbyopia.The study was conducted by researchers from the LV Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad, the University of New South Wales in Sydney, the University of Rochester in New York, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and the Pragyaan Sustainable Health Outcomes Foundation in Hyderabad, Telangana.
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It was published in the BMJ Journals.According to the researchers, average age of the participants was about 29 years, with about 55% being female. Over the 15-year period, approximately 51% of the participants developed presbyopia. This translates to roughly 52 new cases per 100 person-years of observation.Notably, the risk of developing presbyopia was significantly associated with several factors; participants aged 30–39 years were nearly three times as likely to develop the condition, those aged 40–49 years had about a 1.5-fold higher risk, individuals with no formal education were 2.5 times more likely to develop presbyopia, those with only primary education had an approximate 2.1-fold increased risk, and hypertension was associated with a 1.3-fold higher risk."This is the first study to describe the cumulative incidence of presbyopia in a rural Indian population, with an overall cumulative incidence of 50.9%. The high incidence observed in this study has significant implications for daily living among affected individuals, who may face challenges in performing essential near-vision tasks such as reading, sewing, or using electronic devices. This decline in near vision can lead to increased dependence, ultimately affecting both quality of life and psychological well-being," said the panel of researchers including Debananda Padhy, Rohit C Khanna, Srinivas Marmamula, Asha Latha Mettla, Pyda Giridhar, Seema Banerjee, Shekhar Konegari, Subhabrata Chakrabarti, Gudlavalleti V S Murthy, Clare E Gilbert, and Gullapalli Nageswara Rao."Implementing community-based vision screening programmes can help identify individuals with presbyopia and facilitate access to appropriate interventions The findings suggest that there is an annual need for presbyopia correction in rural India and underscore the necessity for targeted eye care screening—particularly among high-risk groups. The study could influence policy to enhance primary eye care services, especially with regard to providing presbyopic spectacles,"they added.