Increased longevity in many parts of the world is having an unexpected downside: The number of people with vision problems is skyrocketing.

According to a new report in the March issue of Optometry and Vision Science, the journal of the American Academy of Optometry, 108 million people now suffer from a correctable vision problems related to what’s called “uncorrected refractive error” (URE) — such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and other focusing problems.

URE problems can be corrected by prescription lenses, but are now responsible for moderate to severe vision impairment in 101 million people and blindness in seven million people worldwide.
"Uncorrected refractive error continues as the leading cause of vision impairment and the second leading cause of blindness worldwide," said lead researcher Kovin Naidoo, of Brien Holden Vision Institute, Durban, South Africa, and colleagues.

The researchers noted URE strikes one out of 90 people worldwide.

For the study, researchers analyzed nearly 250 studies performed between 1990 and 2010 to estimate the number of people affected by blindness and visual impairment due to URE.
The number of URE sufferers is rising, in part because of population growth as well as increased longevity.

Between 1990 and 2010, the number of people with blindness caused by URE increased by about 8 percent and the number with vision impairment increased by 15 percent, compared to a 30 percent increase in world population.