ARVO Logo A report by scientists at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) has revealed the reason why women may require reading glasses earlier than men. According to the team, factors like desired reading distance and arm length could also come into play other than the capacity to focus.

A meta-analysis was conducted taking into consideration 9 studies to observe the incidence and intensity of presbyopia. This condition generally leads to the near vision being lost, in instances like reading, writing and others.

“These findings could impact global vision care in multiple ways. The findings reinforce the need for presbyopia correction programs for women — a group that often has greater unmet vision needs in developing countries. It also points out that presbyopia is a multi-factorial problem and requires solutions that are tailored to each individual,” cited Hickenbotham.

As per the results, there seemed to be no gender difference with respect to the ability to focus. However, women may require higher power glasses and bifocals than men owing to their arm lengths or preferred reading distances.

Holding the object very close to the eyes is a known to be cause of poor vision in women. Reported in the journal, Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, the study showed that more factors need to be noted in terms of presbyopia.

The scientists believed that further studies are needed to understand the factors contributing to this condition that is generally seen in senior people.