Fear of vision loss

Wednesday, November 5 2014 | 00 h 00 min | Vision Science

People fear blindness as much as they do cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and HIV/AIDS, according to a poll by Research!America and Alliance for Eye and Vision Research.

The majority of respondents considered vision loss to be the worst that could happen to them, as opposed to the loss of memory, hearing or speech. About 80% of respondents said that research to improve the prevention and treatment of eye disorders was a priority.

The poll, conducted in August 2014, involved 925 Whites, 401 Hispanics, 301 Asian-Americans and 417 African-Americans.