The American Optometric Association (1997) reports the following statistics on persons who wear contact lenses:
- Nearly 25 million Americans wear contact lenses
- Two-thirds of all contact lens wearers are female
- 10% are age 16 or younger
- 30% are 17 to 24 years old
- 50% are 25 to 44 years old
- Most are nearsighted
Close to two-thirds of Americans (63.5%) wear prescription glasses (The Vision Council, 2010). This translates into:
- 59.8% of men and 67.0% of women
- 49.5% aged 18 to 34, 53.1% aged 35 to 44, 69.3% aged 45 to 54, and 79.8% aged 55 and older
In terms of reading glasses, 11.2% of Americans wear them (The Vision Council, 2010). This translates into:
- 10.5% of men and 11.9% of women
- 1.0% aged 18 to 34, 3.9% aged 35 to 44, 21.2% aged 45 to 54, and 19.5% aged 55 and older
For sunglasses, 85.0% of Americans wear them (The Vision Council, 2010). This represents the following:
- 82.4% of men and 87.5% of women
- 86.0% aged 18 to 34, 88.1% aged 35 to 44, 85.3% aged 45 to 54, and 82.0% aged 55 and older
In terms of contact lenses, 15.1% of Americans wear them (The Vision Council, 2010). This represents the following:
- 10.9% of men and 19.1% of women
- 22.9% aged 18 to 34, 19.4% aged 35 to 44, 12.5% aged 45 to 54, and 6.6% aged 55 and older According to the Vision Council (2010), only 43.4% of adults 18 and older reported having an annual eye exam within the past year.
