Global issue: Women more like to have presbyopia, less likely to receive spectacle correction

The authors collected age-adjusted data on 1,709 people aged 40 and above in rural Tanzania. Multivariate analysis showed women had 46 percent higher odds of being presbyopic, and that women had more severe presbyopia than men across all age groups.

While a high proportion of participants (69 percent) were able to afford spectacles at a price that covered the cost and shipping of the spectacles, men were more likely to be able to afford spectacles, whereas a higher proportion of women needed to rely on another person to help them afford spectacles. 

The majority of participants did not know where to get spectacles. Women were less likely to know than men. Among those (both men and women) who knew where to go, a third could not afford the means to travel to a location where spectacles could be obtained. Once again, women were less likely to be able to afford the travel. 

This data adds to a growing body of research showing differences between men and women in the prevalence, age of onset, and severity of presbyopia, as well as disparities in the ability of men and women to afford spectacles for correction of presbyopia.