A study of rural Korean adults found other age-related refractive errors—myopia and hyperopia—to be widespread, and that the prevalence of myopia decreased with age and transitioned into hyperopia at ages 60 to 69 years. At this stage of life, people become susceptible to more vision problems including cataracts, glaucoma and age related macular degeneration.

According to researchers, impaired vision among elderly individuals often reduces their independence as it can limit physical activity and increase the possibilities of falls. In fact, falls are as much as seven times more likely in the vision-impaired elderly, and the aftermath of these accidents is becoming increasingly expensive. A recent Australian study suggests that unless preventive strategies, such as vision correction, are put in place, the total health cost attributed to fall-related injuries will almost triple in the coming years. So, while eye conditions affecting the elderly are fairly common and easily treatable, they can be debilitating both financially and physically, if left uncorrected.

The Vision Impact Institute points out that vision correction can make a dramatic improvement to not only what elderly adults around the world see, but also how they experience life.