People who do not attend regular eye examinations are at higher risk of having eye conditions going undetected, as many have few or no symptoms in the early stages. An eye exam may also detect other systemic health conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure. 

“Sight tests are often described as opportunistic health screening, where an optometrist can detect signs of certain conditions,” says Gordon Ilett MCOptom, a part-time community optometrist at Emma Stone Opticians in south Devon and part-time senior optometrist at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust.

The reasons some people proactively seek health support and advice while others do not are complex and varied. More research is needed on who is more likely to present with later-stage eye health conditions. However, one study, for example, found that people with lower socioeconomic status were more likely to present with advanced glaucoma (Fraser et al, 2001).

Reasons for non-attendance may include perceived cost (Leamon et al, 2014) and concern about receiving bad health news (Fairless and Nwanyanwu, 2019).

Research suggests there may be differences between the genders in terms of their general health-seeking behaviour. 

The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology writes that “available data suggests that men access and engage with health services less than women”, and that “for many younger and middle-aged men, there often appears to be little need to engage with healthcare services until things are too late” (Ramsay and Bunn, 2023).