NORTH CHICAGO, Ill.,
Sept. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/
-- From texting mishaps to lost reading glasses, the impact of
age-related blurry near vision, or difficulty seeing things up
close, on daily life can be pervasive. People who struggle with
this may have presbyopia, which affects most adults over 40. It's a
common and progressive eye condition that reduces the eye's ability
to focus on things up close and can create a lot of frustration for
those experiencing it.
Despite the high prevalence of near vision issues like
presbyopia, these challenges can still come as a surprise to people
with difficulty seeing up close. In fact, according to a recent
survey commissioned by Allergan, an AbbVie company, of 1,000 adults
ages 40 – 55 who reported having near vision issues, 65% of survey
respondents said that they were not prepared to have their eyesight
worsen as they got older, and a quarter admitted they were in
denial that their near vision was getting worse.
"While most people have not heard of the medical term for
age-related blurry near vision, presbyopia is a natural part of
aging and affects approximately 128 million adults in the U.S.,"
said optometrist Dr. Selina McGee,
Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry. "The survey results
reinforce what I hear from patients with near vision issues in my
practice every day – that these challenges are increasingly
frustrating, and impact their daily lives, especially when they are
looking at their cell phones, reading, or trying to see a menu in a
dimly lit restaurant."
In a year filled with Zoom calls and virtual gatherings, 84% of
survey respondents reported that it was more frustrating to have
blurry near vision when trying to read than having a video call
freeze. There are options available to manage near vision issues,
but they can come with challenges of their own. Over half of those
surveyed with reading glasses (51%) admitted they lose or misplace
them at least once a week; and over a quarter (26%) said they lose
them daily. Additionally, for many adults, blurry near vision may
impact the activities they enjoy most. In fact, half of survey
respondents admitted they decreased or gave up on a hobby because
they could no longer see well up close.
People experiencing age-related blurry near vision should talk
to an eye care professional (ECP) to learn more about presbyopia,
which can be diagnosed through a basic eye exam. Additionally,
individuals are invited to visit BlurryNearVision.com, a website
from Allergan, offering information on presbyopia. The site
features an interactive component that shows how people see text up
close when they have presbyopia and a quiz to uncover how the
condition could be affecting their daily lives. Visitors can use
these tools as a starting point when talking to their ECPs about
their symptoms.
About the Survey
The online Blurry Near Vision
survey, commissioned by Allergan and conducted by Wakefield
Research, was fielded from August 2 –
August 9, 2021, to 1,000 nationally
representative U.S. adults ages 40 – 55 who reported having near
vision issues. It was not confirmed whether the respondents were
diagnosed with presbyopia.
About Allergan Eye Care
As a leader in eye
care, Allergan has discovered, developed, and delivered
some of the most innovative products in the industry for more than
70 years. Allergan has launched over 125 eye care
products and invested billions of dollars in treatments for the
most prevalent eye conditions including glaucoma, ocular surface
disease, and retinal diseases such as diabetic macular edema and
retinal vein occlusion.
About AbbVie
AbbVie's mission is to discover and
deliver innovative medicines that solve serious health issues today
and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a
remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic
areas: immunology, oncology, neuroscience, eye care, virology,
women's health and gastroenterology, in addition to products and
services across its Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more
information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com.
Follow @abbvie on
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and
LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements
Some statements in this
news release are, or may be considered, forward-looking statements
for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project" and
similar expressions, among others, generally identify
forward-looking statements. AbbVie cautions that these
forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties
that may cause actual results to differ materially from those
indicated in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, failure to realize
the expected benefits from AbbVie's acquisition of Allergan plc
("Allergan"), failure to promptly and effectively integrate
Allergan's businesses, competition from other products, challenges
to intellectual property, difficulties inherent in the research and
development process, adverse litigation or government action,
changes to laws and regulations applicable to our industry and the
impact of public health outbreaks, epidemics or pandemics, such as
COVID-19. Additional information about the economic, competitive,
governmental, technological and other factors that may affect
AbbVie's operations is set forth in Item 1A, "Risk Factors," of
AbbVie's 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which has been filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, as updated by its
subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. AbbVie undertakes no
obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking
statements as a result of subsequent events or developments, except
as required by law.
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SOURCE AbbVie