Sight loss in over-50s to increase by a third by 2020

The number of new cases of the progressive sight-loss condition age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is likely to rise by as much as a third in the next eight years.

New research carried out by scientists at St George's, University of London, estimates that 2.4 per cent of over-50s have advanced AMD, with the risk of developing the condition increasing with age.

AMD currently accounts for the majority of registered blind and partially-sighted people in the UK, by impacting part of the retina at the back of the eye and leading to gradual sight loss.

According to the researchers, ageing alone will increase the prevalence of AMD in the UK by a third by 2020, with 71,000 new cases of late AMD predicted each year.

The authors of the study, which has been published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, said: "These evidence-based estimates can be used to help plan social and healthcare provision for the present and the future."

Iara Eaglen, from the Royal National Institute of Blind People, has called for further investment in the early detection and treatment of AMD.