Vitamins, diet and exercise outpace eye care in health habits

More than one in five Americans haven’t visited the optometrist in at least a year (22%) and another 15% “can’t remember” the last time they did so, according to new research.

A survey of 2,000 U.S. adults looked at how respondents understand the importance of eye health and preventative care, finding that Gen Z is the likeliest to have put off visiting the optometrist (24%).

Similarly, 20% of all respondents haven’t had an eye exam in the last year, though only 11% say it’s been long enough that they “can’t remember”.

Many are due for one, especially since the average American spends nearly 50 hours in front of screens per week (seven hours per day), with Gen X leading the charge with an average of 52 hours.

This adds up quickly, amounting to over 2,500 hours of screentime a year for the average person.

Across generations, 91% care about preventative health, but only 55% commit to annual exams.

Instead, respondents are more keen on taking vitamins and supplements (64%), eating healthy foods (61%), and exercising regularly (56%).

While eye health is somewhat of a priority for those surveyed (20%), they admittedly don’t emphasize this facet of their health as much as mental health (61%), emotional health (32%) or oral health (21%).

Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of the American Optometric Association (AOA)(https://www.aoa.org), the survey revealed that nearly a quarter of Americans aren’t aware that a comprehensive eye exam can reveal larger health issues (22%).

Respondents would get a comprehensive in-person eye exam if they experienced sudden vision changes or issues (55%); others would put more emphasis on this as they age (40%) or if they had better access to the right doctor (31%).

Those who haven’t been to the optometrist recently reasoned that they didn’t think they needed to (27%) and that they think they have good vision and don’t experience problems (22%).

Of those polled, 1,000 have taken GLP-1s and were asked about their understanding of preventative care in terms of eye health.

Although GLP-1 users especially agree that preventative health care is important to them (95% vs. 88% of non-GLP-1 users), one in seven haven’t had an eye exam in the last year. Still, eye health seems to be a higher priority for GLP-1 users than non-users.

However, 22% of GLP-1 users who haven’t gone to the optometrist lately didn’t think they need to.

“More than a quarter of Americans say they’ve had an eye health ‘wake-up call’ that led them to seek care, including nearly 40% of people using GLP-1 medications,” said Jacqueline “Jacquie” M. Bowen, O.D., president of AOA. “That tells us many people are waiting until something feels wrong before seeing an optometrist. In reality, changes in eye health can happen gradually and without clear symptoms, which is why routine, comprehensive eye exams are so important for catching eye health issues, and over 270 diseases, earlier. Annual eye exams help to protect long-term health.”

Generally, more than a third of Americans polled admit they’re not very knowledgeable about GLP-1 medications (37%).

The majority weren’t aware that it’s necessary to have a baseline eye exam before or shortly after starting a GLP-1 (56%) or about potential eye-related side effects when taking a GLP-1 (52%) — including a quarter of current users (26%).

Just 13% knew that permanent vision loss was a potential complication of taking a GLP-1, right there with other lesser-known side effects like gallbladder disease (12%), gallstones (10%) and NAION (8%).

“When one in five people using GLP-1 medications report experiencing eye health issues after starting treatment, it shows why it needs to be part of the conversation,” said Dr. Bowen. “Starting with a baseline eye exam and keeping up with regular care from an optometrist is an important part of managing eye health alongside those broader health decisions.”