Keep Up with the Boom

The baby boomer generation will have a massive impact on future ophthalmology, and some strategies must be put in place to handle all the new patients who will need care, according to Mats Lundström MD, PhD.

The term ‘baby boomer generation’ refers to people born between 1946 and 1964. This year, the youngest members of this generation are turning 62, while the oldest are turning 80. According to Eurostat data shown by Professor Lundström, there will be more and more people over the age of 80 in the future, and baby boomers will be a significant percentage of them. To put this in visual perspective, the increase in the elderly creates more of a pentagonal shape than the expected pyramid of a steady generational growth. This phenomenon already has had, and will continue to have, a significant impact on healthcare and, of course, ophthalmology, he stressed.

“We have three frequent ophthalmic diseases that are age-related: cataract, dry and wet macular degeneration, and glaucoma,” Prof Lundström said. “The number of cases we will treat will expand over the years, so this will be a challenge for ophthalmology to take care of.”

Ageing, however, is not the only factor in play. The development of treatments for age-related ophthalmic diseases, as well as the expansion of new surgical technologies and capacities and greater awareness of these treatments and technologies, has contributed to an increase in the burden of ophthalmic management of the growing number of cases, said Prof Lundström, citing data from the Swedish National Cataract Registry.¹

So, how are doctors to navigate this impact? All areas of ophthalmology must be prepared for the upcoming challenge, Prof Lundström emphasised. Increasing medical personnel, involving primary care physicians, better managing ophthalmic practices, and increasing the tempo of treatment will help address the challenges of growing demand. Increasing the number of personnel should involve not only ophthalmologists but ophthalmic nurses, scrub nurses, assistant nurses, optometrists, and opticians, he specified.

Cooperation with primary care should be strengthened with repeated education activities, possibilities for auscultation, and making agreements on a local level to manage ophthalmic cases without always referring all of them to eye clinics, he added.

Using Swedish National Cataract Registry data as an example, Prof Lundström showed a shift from community-based to private cataract surgeries, indicating a successful change that leads to optimisation. He emphasised that private clinics, which do not need all of the resources of community-based clinics, could focus on specific procedures like cataract surgery. Especially in areas with limited ophthalmic services, a change of tempo in treatment featuring quick decision making and action can lead to more effective case management, he added.

What comes next, when the impact of the baby boom generation has passed? Will there be a problem of overstaffing? According to Dr Lundström, this concern does not take into account the whole picture.

“I do not think we will have too many employees, because there will be ongoing development within ophthalmology, with new treatments and new challenges,” he concluded.

Prof Lundström spoke at the 2025 ESCRS Annual Congress in Copenhagen.

Mats Lundström MD, PhD is Professor Emeritus at Lund University, Sweden. mats.lundstrom@med.lu.se

1. Bro T, et al. JCRS, 2023 Aug 1; 49(8): 879–884.