What to know
- The Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System (VEHSS) reports prevalence of vision, eye health, and eyecare indicators across numerous data sources.
- It also combines information from multiple data sources to create the VEHSS Modeled composite prevalence estimates—our primary estimates of the total prevalence of visual acuity loss and major eye disorders.
Documentation
Check VEHSS documentation pages for more information about data sources, indicators, and VEHSS analyses.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System?
VEHSS reports prevalence information from multiple data sources to help health professionals, researchers, policy makers, and the public understand the scope of vision loss, eye disorders, and eye care services in the US. VEHSS also combines information from multiple data sources to create the VEHSS modelled prevalence estimates—our primary estimates of prevalence of visual acuity loss and major eye disorders.
What are vision and eye health indicators?
VEHSS' indicators are measures of vision problems, eye disorders, and eyecare services based on case definitions. VEHSS includes over 200 different indicators across numerous data sources. The VEHSS Case Definitions page includes documentation for all conditions included in VEHSS. When viewing data in the VEHSS Data Explorer, click on the "Category Definition" link to see the definition for your selected indicator.
What is the VEHSS Data Explorer?
The is an interactive data analysis and visualization application to search for data and indicators. It displays prevalence information for the selected indicator with tables, charts, or maps.
How does VEHSS define vision problems?
There are many indicators of vision problems in VEHSS. The primary measure is the VEHSS Modelled Estimate of the prevalence of visual acuity loss and blindness, which was created by combining information from several data sources. There are also estimates based on self-report questions from four national surveys, diagnosed vision disorders in administrative claims data, and more detailed visual acuity results from examination data from NHANES, and the IRIS Registry, and presenting vision acuity and contrast sensitivity measures from NHATS.
Which eye diseases does VEHSS include?
VEHSS provides the prevalence of several diagnosed eye disorders, overall and by subgroups, in administrative claims data and the IRIS Registry using diagnosis codes. These data represent diagnosed conditions among each dataset's patient population.
VEHSS Modeled Estimates include comprehensive prevalence estimates for three major eye diseases; age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma, and the proportion of patients with each conditions who have a vision threatening or vision affecting stage. These estimates represent the total prevalence, including both diagnosed and undiagnosed cases among the U.S. population.
How do I get quick answers to how many people in the US have vision or eye problems?
The VEHSS Modeled Estimates are designed to provide comprehensive estimates of how many people in the US have vision problems or major eye diseases, including age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, or glaucoma. To learn more, visit the Surveillance Summaries & Articles page, or the and select VEHSS Modeled Estimates in the Data Source dropdown filter.
What are the VEHSS Modeled Estimates?
VEHSS modeled estimates are the capstone surveillance outcomes reported by VEHSS. They are created using statistical models that combine information from multiple data sources. Because no single data source can capture the full scope of vision and eye problems, combining prevalence information across multiple data sources included in VEHSS can provide more comprehensive estimates.
What data sources are available?
VEHSS summarizes prevalence information from numerous data sources, including national surveys, administrative claims databases, and the IRIS Registry. VEHSS Modelled Estimates are also available, which combine information from multiple data sources. Visit the Data Source documentation page section to see summaries of the VEHSS analysis of each included data source.
Is there person-level data?
VEHSS does not report person-level data. All data reported by VEHSS are counts and percentages of people. These counts and rates are calculated for everyone in the data, and by groups defined by demographic characteristics, risk factors, and location.
How do I download data?
Visit the to access public use files (PUFs).