Pollution and poverty can be determinants in the onset and course of many eye diseases
Environmental sustainability is also a very important factor for eye health.
Pollution and poverty are, in fact, determinants in the development of many eye diseases. According to data from the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than one billion people in the world are exposed to the risk of avoidable blindness, a condition so defined because it is caused by diseases such as cataracts, retinopathy, diabetic macular oedema or glaucoma that, if diagnosed and treated appropriately, can be cured by preventing visual impairment, which alone increases the risk of mortality by up to 2.6 times and costs the global economy $411 billion a year in lost productivity alone.
The seventh episode, entitled 'Eye Health and Sustainability', of 'Ascolta e vedrai', the L'Oculista Italiano podcast created to promote and support visual wellbeing and learn how to know and protect our eyes, is dedicated to these topics.
As the narrator reminds us, people living in urban areas are 50% more likely to develop glaucoma than those living in rural areas.
In fact, the presence of pollutants in the air we breathe can have deleterious effects, especially those particles whose size is small enough to penetrate the respiratory system.
In particular, a recent study published in Nature's 'Scientific Reports' shows that particulate P2.5, by altering the structure and stability of the tear film, promotes the onset of dry eye syndrome.
In addition, 90% of vision loss - the podcast just released reminds us - occurs in low- and middle-income countries, with the poor and extreme poor lagging furthest behind. And WHO data confirm that women, children, the elderly, people with disabilities, indigenous peoples, local communities, refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants are the most affected by vision problems.
To get a more complete picture of the correlation between sustainability and eye health, listen to the podcast dedicated to this topic, published in 'Listen and You'll See' and available on the platforms - Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker - and on oculistaitaliano.itwhere you can also find other insights and updates on important visual pathologies.
To listen to all the podcasts already published, go to the dedicated section 'Listen and you will see'