Auckland, Sept 20 NZPA - A shocking number of people in New Zealand are neglecting the health of their eyes, according to a new survey.

The survey, released to coincide with Save our Sight month, revealed that approximately 68,000 New Zealanders over 40 have glaucoma.

Half of them don't even know they have the disease which undetected can lead to blindness, but can be treated if diagnosed early.

Similarly, the survey found 41 percent of people were unaware that macular degeneration, a condition which affects people as they age, can lead to blindness.

Forty-seven percent of participants in the survey felt uninformed or very uninformed about eye health in New Zealand, and 62 percent of people who don't wear glasses or contact lenses had never had an eye examination, the survey found.

Save our Sight month throughout September is an annual initiative promoted by the New Zealand Association of Optometrists.

The survey, the first of its kind in New Zealand, generated some surprising, and worrying trends, according to Dr Lesley Frederikson, national director of the association.

"There are a number of other conditions that can be detected through an optometrist's examination, but worryingly, many people don't recognise this," Dr Frederikson said.

"Awareness and knowledge of the importance of eye health is a critical prerequisite for motivating behaviours and accessing appropriate care."

The survey, Eye Health in New Zealand: A study of public knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to eye health and disease, is the first of its kind in New Zealand.

It was carried out by Professor Mark Ahn at Victoria University of Wellington.

"We were astounded at the low levels of knowledge about conditions that can make people blind," Prof Ahn said.

When asked about which conditions could be detected through a comprehensive eye exam, only 47 percent of respondents thought diabetes may be detected through routine exams, 28 percent hypertension, 26 percent brain tumour, 18 percent cancer, 17 percent cardiovascular disease and nine percent multiple sclerosis.

"Of concern, nine percent thought that none of these conditions could be discovered through an eye exam and nearly 40 percent said they didn't know," Mr Ahn said.

The survey also found that behaviours which negatively affect eye health were not clearly understood.

More than 70 percent of the people in the survey thought that reading under dim lights was bad for your eyes, and only 64 percent were aware that smoking cigarettes was bad for your eyes.

Despite the low levels of understanding about causes of changes to vision and threats to eye health nearly all respondents had noticed some changes in their vision -- 38 percent noticed changes before they reached 35 years of age.

When asked about foods related to eye health, 36 percent of people believed that carrots were the best vegetable for eye health (wrong answer) while only 4 percent nominated the lutein-rich leafy green vegetable, spinach.

One of the areas Prof Ahn was keen to explore was parents and guardians with children and indigenous communities of Maoris and Pacific Islanders.

"We found that access to eye care appears to be uneven, particularly among indigenous populations," Mr Ahn said.

"As a group, Maori and Pacific Island respondents to our survey reported using eye health resources considerably less than the overall population, despite having the same awareness of the importance of eye health and associated diseases," he added.