If you have trouble seeing, it’s your arms, not your eyes, that may be to blame.
An analysis conducted at the University of California Berkeley found that women need higher-power lenses than men because their arms are shorter—causing them to hold reading materials too close to their face. That may be a reason, the researchers said, that women are diagnosed with presbyopia, or difficulty focusing on close-up objects.
The study, published in “Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science,” suggested that ophthalmologists focus on additional factors – like shorter arms – when making a diagnosis of presbyopia.
The findings have a global as well as a national impact.
Berkeley researcher Adam Hickenbotham said that the study showed the need for more and better presbyopia programs worldwide. “The findings reinforce the need for presbyopia correction programs for women -- a group that often has greater unmet vision needs in developing countries,” he said in a statement. “It also points outthat presbyopia is a multi-factorial problem and requires solutions that are tailored to each individual."
So if you’ve been having a hard time reading, maybe it’s time to see your opththalmologist—or at least compare your arm length to your husband’s.
