By Swen Carlson, VSP Vision Care
Columbus, we can rest (our eyes) assured because we were just ranked sixth in eye health across the nation. VSP Vision Care, whose Eastern Operations Center and optical lab are located here in Columbus, created an Eye Health Index to rate cities on their “eye healthiness.”
What exactly is eye healthiness? That’s a good question. We looked at all of our members—more than 57 million (a good chance you’re one of them)—and checked to see which cities had the most members get an eye exam in 2011. Then those cities were ranked accordingly.
If you didn’t get an eye exam last year or need some more convincing as to why having healthy eyes is important, consider this: eye exams, of course, help us get glasses and see well, but they also are an easy way to see signs of serious health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. In fact, eye doctors are often the first to detect signs of these diseases:
- Diabetes: 20% of the time
- High blood pressure: 30% of the time
- High cholesterol: 65% of the time
These conditions currently affect more than 140 million Americans, and early identification and treatment can be a big relief for your future health (and your wallet).
For the complete list of ratings or for more information on the Eye Health Index, see the VSP Blog or press release.
Swen Carlson is the Vice President of Operations, Central Region for VSP Optics Group. He oversees the optical labs in Columbus, Ohio, and Lewisville, Texas.
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