Half of Older Adults With Glaucoma Unaware They Have It
Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Sept. 12, 2023 -- Many older adults with glaucoma may be undiagnosed, according to a study published online July 17 in Acta Ophthalmologica.
Lena Havstam Johansson, from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, and colleagues estimated the prevalence of and risk factors for open-angle glaucoma among 70-year-old Swedes. The analysis included 1,182 participants responding to a questionnaire on self-reported glaucoma who were tested for blood pressure (BP) and diabetes.
The researchers found that glaucoma prevalence was 4.8 percent, of which 56 percent was previously undiagnosed. The nonglaucomatous group had a higher proportion of participants with diastolic BP >90 mm Hg (8.3 percent) versus the glaucoma group (0 percent). A significantly larger proportion of the glaucoma group reported a family history of glaucoma (39 percent) compared with the nonglaucomatous group (1.1 percent). In people with previously unknown glaucoma, intraocular pressure was ≤21 mm Hg in two-thirds of participants, and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was lower in eyes with previously unknown glaucoma than in eyes without glaucoma.
"The majority of the newly discovered glaucoma cases had normal intraocular pressure levels (i.e., ≤21 mmHg) leading to a higher risk of not being diagnosed," the authors write. "Interestingly, visual function (i.e., BCVA in the best eye) did not differ between patients with glaucoma and nonglaucomatous participants, since most subjects had unilateral disease, suggesting that visual-related quality of life may not be impaired in the majority of glaucoma cases."
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted September 2023
Read this next
Physical Activity in Middle Age Improves Health Among Women
FRIDAY, May 3, 2024 -- Adherence to physical activity guidelines during middle age appears to improve health-related quality of life among women, according to a study...
Diabetes Increases Risk for Functional Limitations in Older Adults
FRIDAY, May 3, 2024 -- Older adults with diabetes are more likely to develop functional limitations than adults without diabetes, according to a study published online April 16 in...
2020 Cancer Screening Rates Low at Federally Qualified Health Centers
FRIDAY, May 3, 2024 -- In 2020, there were major gaps in screening clients at federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) for various types of cancer when compared with the general...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.