Salt Lake City, Utah — Your eyes are more than windows to the soul, they are windows to your overall health. This message will resonate throughout the upcoming week (May 4 - 8) at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology in in Salt Lake City, Utah. Here scientists will present new data on critical connections between vision research and public health, illustrating how each informs and strengthens the other.
From early detection of diabetes and high blood pressure to clues about heart disease, numerous studies will demonstrate how the eyes often signal health issues before symptoms appear. Changes in the eye’s blood vessels, nerve tissue and even its shape can offer meaningful information about systemic health.
Other studies being presented at the Annual Meeting will explore a range of social barriers to eye care, such as limited transportation and lack of access in underserved areas — factors that increase the risk of vision loss and undiagnosed health problems. For example, even after diagnosis, many patients miss follow-up appointments hindered by reasons such older age, low household income, living with a disability, and relying on Medicare/Medicaid, which in turn affects their vision outcomes. These findings emphasize the need to address systemic barriers to ensure consistent access to care.
Presentations at the Meeting will cover health literacy also, which is how well patients understand and use health information. Low health literacy leads to increased negative effects of social vulnerability on vision. Many patients who see ophthalmologists often struggle with this issue with certain groups at a higher risk of having inadequate health literacy, such as English not being one’s primary language, living with a disability, and being diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma or macular degeneration. These findings underscore the importance of healthcare professionals tailoring communication to improve patients' health literacy.
Collectively, these studies presented at the Meeting will emphasize the need to include eye health and science in broader health conversations. They will also highlight the necessity to continue examining all factors that could hinder progress in both research and healthcare.
##
The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) is an international eye and vision research organization with more than 10,000 members from over 60 countries. Our Annual Meeting is the premiere global gathering for eye and vision scientists, students, and those in affiliated fields to share the latest research findings and collaborate on innovative solutions. For 2025, the Meeting will be hosted May 4 - 8 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Meeting theme, i3: imagining innovation and intelligence in vision science, addresses how vision research is continually being transformed by new information and technologies that are catalyzing our research as we aim to treat, cure and ultimately prevent blinding eye diseases. Learn more at ARVO.org/AM.
Media contact:
Jenniffer Scherhaufer, MMC, CAE
1.240.221.2923
[email protected]
RSS