Abstract
The number of people with glaucoma worldwide in 2010 and 2020
Aim: To estimate the number of people with open-angle (OAG) and angle-closure glaucoma (ACG) in 2010 and 2020.
Methods: A review of published data with use of prevalence models. Data from population-based studies of age-specific prevalence of OAG and ACG that satisfied standard definitions were used to construct prevalence models for OAG and ACG by age, sex, and ethnicity, weighting data proportional to sample size of each study. Models were combined with UN world population projections for 2010 and 2020 to derive the estimated number with glaucoma.
Results: There will be 60.5 million people with OAG and ACG in 2010, increasing to 79.6 million by 2020, and of these, 74 per cent will have OAG. Women will comprise 55 per cent of OAG, 70 per cent of ACG, and 59 per cent of all glaucoma in 2010. Asians will represent 47 per cent of those with glaucoma and 87 per cent of those with ACG. Bilateral blindness will be present in 4.5 million people with OAG and 3.9 million people with ACG in 2010, rising to 5.9 and 5.3 million people in 2020, respectively.
Conclusions: Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide, disproportionately affecting women and Asians.
Printed courtesy of: Br J Ophthalmol. 2006 Mar;90(3): 262-7.