Weekly challenge: Get screened for eye diseases

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

What better way to mark the new year than to have an eye exam? The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends that adults get a baseline eye screening -- separate from a vision exam for glasses or contacts -- starting at age 40 to detect early signs of eye diseases such as cataracts and glaucoma.

Those living in Boston and other northern regions of the United States may be at somewhat higher risk of developing glaucoma, which can lead to permanent vision loss, according to a Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary study published yesterday in the journal Ophthalmology. Compared with living in New England and other northern areas, those who lived in the middle regions of the country had about half the risk of developing glaucoma -- which occurs in about 4 percent of adults over 70 -- and those in the South had a 75 percent reduced risk.

“Where you live does matter when it comes to developing the disease,” Dr. Louis Pasquale, study co-author and director of Mass. Eye and Ear’s Glaucoma Center of Excellence, said in a statement.

The study also found that a positive family history of glaucoma was associated with a more than doubling of risk.

While the Academy of Ophthalmology doesn’t have firm recommendations for how often adults should have their eyes examined -- every two years, five years, etc. -- an ophthalmologist should make that determination for individuals based on risk factors such as a family history for eye disease, diabetes, or high blood pressure.