The most common cause of vision loss in people over the age of 50 is expected to affect 77 million Europeans by 2050, researchers have found.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a painless condition that affects a tiny part of the retina called the macula, which is located in the back of the eye. It affects central vision, making it blurry. Central vision is necessary for everyday activities such as reading, driving and watching television.

Over 7,000 people are newly diagnosed with AMD every year in Ireland. Once advanced, the condition can be treated, but not cured. 

German researchers set out to determine an accurate estimate of the likely demands placed on healthcare services by AMD throughout the EU up to the year 2050.

To do this, they pooled data from 26 studies, involving over 55,000 people, with an average age of between 60 and 81.

They found that the number of new cases is projected to rise by 75% up to 2050. In fact, by that year, an estimated one in four older adults in the EU will have AMD.

Based on these figures, the researchers estimate that 77 million people in the EU will have the condition by 2050, compared with 67 million in 2015.

The biggest increase will be seen in those aged 75 and older.

Meanwhile, the number of new cases of advanced AMD is also set to increase from 400,000 per year to 700,000 per year by 2050.

"This will require considerable additional healthcare service and resource allocation, which should be considered already today in all European healthcare systems," the researchers from the University of Bonn warned.

Details of these findings are published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.