Did you know that two-thirds of all blindness and visual impairment occurs in women? For this and several other reasons, women’s eye health deserves special attention.

• Women typically live longer, putting them at higher risk for eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, and cataracts.
• Women are also more likely to suffer from autoimmune conditions, which often come with visual side effects.
• Normal age-related hormonal changes may also affect women’s eyes. Dry eye, for example, is more common in women, partly due to hormonal changes that come with aging.

“We want women to be engaged in caring for their eye health,” says Kathleen B. Digre, MD, of the John A. Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah. “Women may be less likely to access health care for themselves, for example, if they forego regular exams to manage family concerns or take care of others instead of themselves.”

Digre specializes in neuro-ophthalmology and migraines in her practice. Migraines, which can have vision-related symptoms, occur more frequently in women than men.

“One in five women suffers from migraines,” Digre says. “But some women don’t even know they have migraines and may confuse their symptoms with other types of headaches, so it’s important to get a diagnosis.”