Deloitte Access Economics analysed the economic impact and burden of four major eye diseases (cataract, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and wet age-related macular degeneration) and blindness in 11 countries (France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Ireland and the UK) and the cost-effectiveness of interventions to prevent these eye diseases.

A targeted literature search for each countryto identify studies reporting the prevalence of each eye disease and blindness was conducted. The burden of disease analysis included both “direct costs”, which are all healthcare costs as a result of treatment (including costs of hospitalization, general practice services, and medications), and “indirect costs” which are all costs related to loss of productivity and informal care costs. For the cost-effectiveness analysis the WHO ‘Choosing Interventions that are Cost-Effective’ (CHOICE) methods were used to establish whether interventions are worth their investment.