Low Vision

Low Vision Defined:

Low Vision is defined as the best-corrected visual acuity less than 6/12 (‹20/40) in the better-seeing eye (excluding those who were categorized as being blind by the U.S. definition.)

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2010 U.S. Age-Specific Prevalence Rates for Low Vision by Age, and Race/Ethnicity

2010 U.S. age-specific prevalence rates for Low Vision by age, gender, and race/ethnicity

Age White Black Hispanic Other All
40-49 0.05% 0.28% 0.17% 0.11% 0.19%
50-54 0.17% 0.52% 0.33% 0.20% 0.28%
55-59 0.40% 0.82% 0.55% 0.31% 0.41%
60-64 0.85% 1.34% 0.93% 0.47% 0.66%
65-69 1.72% 2.24% 1.63% 0.72% 1.13%
70-74 3.15% 3.83% 2.91% 1.10% 2.08%
75-79 5.27% 6.62% 5.25% 1.67% 4.07%
80+ 10.36% 16.96% 14.98% 3.46% 17.26%
TOTAL 2.25% 1.25% 1.69% 1.50% 2.04%

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2010 Prevalence Rates of Low Vision by Race

Chart Projections 2010 (Low Vision)

  All White Black Hispanic Other
Prevalence 0.020 0.022 0.012 0.017 0.015

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2010 U.S. Prevalent Cases of Low Vision (in thousands) by Age, and Race/Ethnicity

2010 U.S. Prevalent Cases of Vision Impairment (in thousands) by age, gender, and race/ethnicity (Low Vision)

Age White Black Hispanic Other All
40-49 58 2 18 6 84
50-54 41 4 12 5 62
55-59 51 9 15 7 82
60-64 68 14 19 9 110
65-69 88 19 22 11 140
70-74 126 26 27 14 193
75-79 214 32 34 18 298
80+ 1,690 82 106 62 1,940
TOTAL 2,336 188 253 132 2,909

2010 U.S. Prevalent Cases of Low Vision (in thousands) by Age, Gender, and Race/Ethnicity

2010 U.S. Prevalent Cases of Low Vision (in thousands) by gender.

Female/Age White Black Hispanic Other All
40-49 29 1 9 3 42
50-54 21 2 6 3 32
55-59 26 5 8 4 43
60-64 35 8 10 5 58
65-69 46 11 12 6 75
70-74 68 15 15 8 106
75-79 120 20 20 10 170
80+ 1,142 57 68 39 1,306
TOTAL 1,487 119 148 78 1,832
Male/Age White Black Hispanic Other All
40-49 29 1 9 3 42
50-54 20 2 6 2 30
55-59 25 4 7 3 39
60-64 33 6 9 4 52
65-69 42 8 10 5 65
70-74 58 11 12 6 87
75-79 94 12 14 8 128
80+ 548 25 38 23 634
TOTAL 849 69 105 54 1,077

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Projections for Low Vision (2010-2030-2050)

Chart Projections 2010 (Low Vision)

Year All White Black Hispanic Other
2010 2,907,691 2,336,035 189,553 251,365 130,738
2030 5,000,055 3,577,277 365,637 729,604 327,537
2050 8,913,397 5,794,719 624,657 1,750,069 743,952

Chart Projections 2010 (Low Vision)

Total Population 142,648,393 103,846,437 15,190,777 14,901,369 8,709,810

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Changes of Cases between 2000 and 2010

Chart Projections 2010 (Low Vision)

Year Value Short Value
2000 2,359,360 2,359
2010 2,907,691 2,908

2000 U.S. Prevalent Cases of Low Vision (in thousands) by Age, and Race/Ethnicity

2000 U.S. Prevalent Cases of Low Vision Chart

Age White Black Hispanic Other All
40-49 62 2 11 4 79
50-54 35 3 7 4 49
55-59 37 5 8 4 54
60-64 46 9 10 5 70
65-69 71 15 13 7 106
70-74 128 23 18 10 179
75-79 229 29 22 12 292
80+ 1,370 68 58 37 1,533
TOTAL 1,978 154 147 83 2,362

2000 U.S. Prevalent Cases of Low Vision (in thousands) by Age, Gender, and Race/Ethnicity

2000 U.S. Prevalent Cases of Low Vision (in thousands) by gender.

Female/Age White Black Hispanic Other All
40-49 31 1 5 2 39
50-54 18 2 4 2 26
55-59 19 3 4 2 28
60-64 24 5 5 3 37
65-69 38 9 7 4 58
70-74 71 14 10 6 101
75-79 135 18 13 7 173
80+ 973 48 38 23 1,082
TOTAL 1,309 100 86 49 1,544
Male/Age White Black Hispanic Other All
40-49 31 1 6 2 40
50-54 17 1 3 2 23
55-59 18 2 4 2 26
60-64 22 4 5 2 33
65-69 33 6 6 3 48
70-74 57 9 8 4 78
75-79 94 11 9 5 119
80+ 397 20 20 14 451
TOTAL 669 54 61 34 818

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