Eye health map highlights areas of UK at risk of sight loss

A new eye health map of the UK has highlighted that poor lifestyle habits and inadequate health screening are putting people at ‘serious risk’ of sight loss.

The map (pictured) details the towns and cities in the UK with the highest risk of avoidable sight loss due to low uptake of eye tests and high prevalence of poor lifestyle.

London boroughs have the highest concentration of ‘very high’ risk, as well as Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield, while the risk across Scotland is mostly ‘very low.’

The map has been produced for Eye Health UK by Experian and has been released on the first day of the charity’s National Eye Health Week (24–30 September).

The map correlates factors associated with avoidable sight loss, such as sight test uptake, smoking, exercise, obesity, health eating and alcohol consumption.

Chairman of Eye Health UK, David Cartwright, said: “Prevention and early diagnosis of common eye conditions are key to reducing the number of people suffering sight loss unnecessarily.

“However, in towns and cities like Bristol, Liverpool, Luton and Manchester we are seeing a worrying number of people failing to take up their entitlement to free NHS sight tests and displaying high levels of smoking and obesity – two lifestyle factors linked to sight loss.”