Demographics of international contact lens prescribing

Morgan, Philip B.; Efron, Nathan; Helland, Magne; Itoi, Motozumi; Jones, Deborah; Nichols, Jason J.; van der Worp, Eef; Woods, Craig A.

doi:10.1016/j.clae.2009.09.006

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Volume 33, Issue 1 , Pages 27-29, February 2010

Demographics of international contact lens prescribing

Philip B. Morgan
- Eurolens Research, The University of Manchester, Moffat Building, P.O. Box 88, Manchester M60 1QD, United Kingdom
Nathan Efron
- Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, and School of Optometry, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove, Queensland 4059, Australia
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 7 3138 6401; fax: +61 7 3319 6974.
Magne Helland
- Department of Optometry and Visual Science, Buskerud University College, P.O. Box 235, N-3603 Kongsberg, Norway
Motozumi Itoi
- Department of Ophthalmology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Hongo 3-1-3, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8431, Japan
Deborah Jones
- School of Optometry, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
Jason J. Nichols
- College of Optometry, The Ohio State University, 320 W. 10th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210-1280, USA
Eef van der Worp
- University of Maastricht, P. Debijelaan 25, 6202 AZ, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Craig A. Woods
- Centre for Contact Lens Research, School of Optometry, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada

published online 30 October 2009.

Abstract

Knowledge of differences in the demographics of contact lens prescribing between nations, and changes over time, can assist (a) the contact lens industry in developing and promoting various product types in different world regions, and (b) practitioners in understanding their prescribing habits in an international context. Data that we have gathered from annual contact lens fitting surveys conducted in Australia, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the UK and the USA between 2000 and 2008 reveal an ageing demographic, with Japan being the most youthful. The majority of fits are to females, with statistically significant differences between nations, ranging from 62 per cent of fits in Norway to 68 per cent in Japan. The small overall decline in the proportion of new fits, and commensurate increase in refits, over the survey period may indicate a growing rate of conversion of lens wearers to more advanced lens types, such as silicone hydrogels.

Keywords: Contact lens, International, Demographics, Fitting, Survey