Who is affected by glaucoma

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Who is affected by glaucoma

Glaucoma of all types is one of the most common cause of legal blindness in the United States.¹

Open-angle glaucoma (OAG)

The most common type of glaucoma is open-angle glaucoma.

• OAG is more common in older people. The risk of glaucoma increases rapidly after a person reaches age 40. People age 70 and older are about 4 to 7 times more likely to develop glaucoma than people 40 to 50 years old.²
• OAG is 3 times more common among African Americans than in non-Hispanic whites.¹

Closed-angle glaucoma (CAG)

It is estimated that closed-angle glaucoma accounts for about 10% of all glaucoma cases in the United States.³

• CAG is more common in farsighted people and in women. It is least common in whites.
• Acute closed-angle glaucoma is uncommon in African Americans.
• CAG is less common among Native Americans than whites, but it is more common among Canadian, Alaskan, and Greenland Inuit peoples and among people from East Asia or with East Asian ancestry.

Congenital glaucoma

Congenital glaucoma is rare.

References

Citations

1. American Academy of Ophthalmology (2005). Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma, Limited Revision (Preferred Practice Pattern). San Francisco: American Academy of Ophthalmology. Also available online: http://www.aap.org/ppp.

2. Coleman AL (1999). Glaucoma. Lancet, 354(9192): 1803–1810.

3. American Academy of Ophthalmology (2005). Primary Angle Closure (Preferred Practice Pattern). San Francisco: American Academy of Ophthalmology. Also available online: http://www.aap.org/ppp.

Credits

Last updated:	May 23, 2008
Author:	Jeannette Curtis
Reviewed By:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine, Carol L. Karp, MD - Ophthalmology
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman, MATC