Hotter Climates Mean Eye Health Issues

A study published in Ophthalmic Epidemiology shows that American senior citizens residing in warmer regions are more likely to experience severe vision impairment than their counterparts living in cooler areas.

According to the study, the odds of serious vision impairment increased incrementally with the region's rise in average temperature, with a 44% higher risk for regions that average 60˚F or higher. This correlation remained consistent regardless of other factors, including age, sex, income, and education.

The lead author, Professor Esme Fuller-Thomson, states that, “This link between vision impairment and average temperature is very worrying if future research determines that the association is causal.” The authors hypothesize several potential reasons for the observed relationship between temperature and ocular health, including increased ultraviolet light exposure, air pollution, infections, and folic acid degradation with increased temperature.

The study was a secondary analysis of the American Community Survey, which had only one question pertaining to severe vision impairment: “Is this person blind or does he/she have serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses?” (Read more here.)

OUTSIDE THE LANE

AI in the Name of Eye Care

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has recently established the Center for Ophthalmic Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Human Health to further advance the use of AI in eye care. The center will focus on developing AI tools and technologies to help eye care practitioners diagnose and manage eye conditions more efficiently and accurately.

By harnessing the power of AI, Mount Sinai believes that patient outcomes and overall eye health will be improved. Additionally, the center’s interdisciplinary approach will aim to bring together experts in eye care, computer science, and data science to collaborate on innovative solutions for patients. As AI continues to revolutionize health care (and pretty much everything else), this new center at Mount Sinai will strive to be at the forefront of promoting advancements in eye care and providing cutting-edge, AI-driven solutions for eye doctors and their patients.

My Two Cents

As you may have gathered from previous editions of the newsletter, I’m all in on AI in health care. I strongly believe that Mount Sinai is on the right path here by fully embracing it and working to become a leader in the category.

CAN YOU RELATE

Scleral lenses—not just for ocular disease management! This past weekend, I received a panicked call from one of my patients stating that her scleral lens had broken, and she needed an immediate replacement. I assumed she had dropped it, lost it, the dog ate it, etc—one of the typical reasons patients need a replacement. Upon questioning, I discovered that she had been doing yard work, when a stone flew up in her face while trimming her lawn and hit her in the eye!

As you can see in the photos below, the lens provided an incredible protective barrier to her 16-cut radial keratotomy cornea and likely prevented substantial corneal damage. When I brought her into the clinic, her cornea had a little inflammation and trace superficial punctate keratopathy where the rock had likely made contact with the cornea, but she was otherwise fine. After a few days of vitamin T (ie, tobramycin/dexamethasone ophthalmic suspension 0.3%/0.05%; Tobradex ST, Santen), her cornea was as perfect as it can be post radial keratotomy.

The patient’s main concern was getting a replacement scleral lens, but after talking to me, she realized that this little miracle of plastic protected her eye in a way she had never dreamed.

Have y’all ever run into a situation where a scleral lens provided protective support like this?

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts”

—Winston S. Churchill