UK glaucoma cases will rise to 1.6m by 2060 amid ‘demographic timebomb’, experts say
New estimates predict at least 1.6 million people in the UK will be living with glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, by 2060.The figure is much higher than the current 1.1 million people estimated to have the condition, research published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology suggests.The sharp rise will be driven by an increasingly ageing population and growth in the proportion of higher-risk ethnically diverse groups, prompting a need for an expansion in eye health services to meet demand.
The glaucoma “demographic timebomb” will require “serious planning and action now” to ensure future patients have timely diagnosis and treatment, experts say.They also stressed the importance of annual eye checks for people in middle age, and called for awareness campaigns to be rolled out to address late diagnosis.Glaucoma damages the optic nerve, which connects the eye and brain, and is most common in people over 50.It does not usually exhibit symptoms and develops slowly over many years.Researchers from University College London and Moorfields eye hospital said it was previously thought about 700,000 people in the UK were living with glaucoma.
However, using the most recent census data, the team estimated that more than 1 million people in the UK currently have the condition, the equivalent of 3% of the population over the age of 40,This is estimated to rise to 4% among people of African descent, and 11% in people over 85,The study’s lead author, Prof Paul Foster, a UCL Institute of Ophthalmology researcher and consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Moorfields, said: “Glaucoma is a common cause of blindness, but it isn’t symptomatic until its later stages, so regular tests are important for early diagnosis,“Previous studies have estimated that half of glaucoma cases are undiagnosed, and this is even higher among some ethnic minority groups who are more likely to experience delays in diagnosis,“Late diagnosis comes with a higher risk of sight loss and higher costs of care; over 40% of glaucoma patients in the UK experience vision loss that could have been prevented with earlier diagnosis and treatment such as eye drops or surgery.
”The research suggests glaucoma cases in the UK will rise to 1,6m by 2060, based on population predictions from the Office for National Statistics (ONS),This finding underscores the need to expand ophthalmology services to meet the expected rise in demand, as well as ensuring people have access to specialist eye care, researchers said,“Our findings show that there will be a large increase in glaucoma cases in the UK, so there’s a growing need to expand eye health services to meet this demand, including specialist care and diagnostic capacity,” Foster said,“Awareness campaigns encouraging people to get their eyes checked are also needed as part of targeted early detection strategies, particularly to address late diagnosis in underserved, hard to reach populations.
“For people in midlife onwards, it’s important to get your eyes checked annually by your optician, to detect changes that haven’t yet caused any symptoms,”Joanne Creighton, the chief executive of Glaucoma UK, which commissioned the research, said many of the 1 million adults estimated to have glaucoma would not know they had the condition, and potentially lose sight that they would never be able to recover,“This landmark study also predicts a 60% increase in glaucoma cases by 2060, rising from just over 1m to 1,61m,This is a demographic timebomb, and we need serious planning and action now to prepare to diagnose, treat, and support these future patients.
“These findings highlight why routine eye tests are more important than ever before,”
OECD calls on Australia to raise GST and increase affordable housing amid budget deficit
The OECD has called on the government to broaden the GST, do more to reduce greenhouse emissions and adopt ambitious social housing targets as part of its annual economic survey of Australia.Ahead of Jim Chalmers’ fifth federal budget in May, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said Australia’s economy was “now normalising”, after struggling through a lengthy period of weak growth following the pandemic.Interest rate cuts and a rebound in households’ real disposable incomes would drive average economic growth up to “a little more than 2% over the coming years”, it said in the report.Sign up: AU Breaking News email“But longstanding challenges of slower productivity growth, high housing costs and high carbon emissions need to be addressed.”The OECD called out the damage from Australia’s increasingly unaffordable housing market and backed federal and state-level efforts to boost home supply by easing land restrictions and increasing density
Trump paints himself as great white hope in racism-drenched Davos speech
Donald Trump turned up in Davos wielding an insult bazooka. He mocked Emmanuel Macron’s aviator sunglasses, chided Mark Carney (“Canada lives because of the United States”), asserted that the Swiss are “only good because of us” and had a dig at Denmark for losing Greenland “in six hours” during the second world war.But beyond the fractious rhetoric, the US president brought a deeper message on Wednesday that sought to unify the west rather than divide it. It was his most dark, insidious and sinister project of all.Trump surmised: Yes, we might have our internal squabbles, but I am bringing tough love because we are all in this together
My analogue month: would ditching my smartphone make me healthier, happier – or more stressed?
When I swapped my iPhone for a Nokia, Walkman, film camera and physical map, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But my life soon started to changeWhen two balaclava-clad men on a motorbike mounted the pavement to rob me, recently, I remained oblivious. My eyes were pinned to a text message on my phone, and my hands were so clawed around it that they didn’t even bother to grab it. It wasn’t until an elderly woman shrieked and I felt the whoosh of air as the bike launched back on to the road that I looked up at all. They might have been unsuccessful but it did make me think: what else am I missing from the real world around me?Before I’ve poured my first morning coffee I’ve already watched the lives of strangers unfold on Instagram, checked the headlines, responded to texts, swiped through some matches on a dating app, and refreshed my emails, twice
Big tech continues to bend the knee to Trump a year after his inauguration
Hello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m your host, Blake Montgomery, the Guardian’s US tech editor.One year ago today, Donald Trump was inaugurated as president of the United States. Standing alongside him that day were the leaders of the tech industry’s most powerful companies, who had donated to him in an unprecedented bending of the knee. In the ensuing year, the companies have reaped enormous rewards from their alliance with Trump, which my colleague Nick Robins-Early and I wrote about last month after Trump signed an executive order prohibiting states from passing laws regulating AI
Offshore gambling operators using Australian Open to promote illegal services
Offshore gambling operators are using the Australian Open to promote their illegal services, sparking calls for sweeping bans on the unlicensed websites.Australian regulators and sporting professionals have expressed rising concern at the growth of offshore sites, where gamblers are not protected by Australian consumer law and have no guarantee they can withdraw their winnings.One unlicensed offshore e-casino, Vegastars, has offered a giveaway of front row tickets to a night session of the tournament at Rod Laver Arena and a $500 flight voucher.Australian Instagram users were among the 2,500 accounts to comment on Vegastars’ promotional post, which featured the Australian Open logo even though the tournament is not affiliated with the promotion.Sign up: AU Breaking News emailAt least three more unlicensed sites have used the championship’s logo and photos of tennis stars in their social media promotions, while another 10 have advertised Australian Open-themed promotions online
Hans Herrmann obituary
Before leaving his home in Stuttgart to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the summer of 1970, the German racing driver Hans Herrmann promised his wife, Magdalena, that if he won, he would retire from the cockpit. This was his 14th attempt at the French sports car classic and, at 42, he was not expecting to have to honour his pledge.But win he did. He and his co-driver, Richard Attwood, a former Jaguar apprentice, held the lead in their Porsche 917K for the last 12 hours of a race run on a rain-drenched track so treacherous that only seven cars out of 51 starters were able to reach the finish.It was the last event in a career that had seen Herrmann, who has died aged 97, compete in 19 Formula One grands prix for various teams, including Mercedes-Benz, for whom he finished third in the 1954 Swiss Grand Prix on the fast and tricky Bremgarten circuit in Bern
Ed Zitron on big tech, backlash, boom and bust: ‘AI has taught us that people are excited to replace human beings’
Deactivate your X account – you won’t miss it when it’s gone | Letter
‘Still here!’: X’s Grok AI tool accessible in Malaysia and Indonesia despite ban
‘We could hit a wall’: why trillions of dollars of risk is no guarantee of AI reward
He called himself an ‘untouchable hacker god’. But who was behind the biggest crime Finland has ever known?
China blocks Nvidia H200 AI chips that US government cleared for export – report