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Abstract #18900 Published in IGR 3-1
Insights from incidence: the Barbados eye studies
Musch DCArchives of Ophthalmology 2001; 119: 117-118
This editorial basically deals with an article by Leske et al. on the incidence of open-angle glaucoma (OAG) over a four-year period in the black population of Barbados. The author states that incidence rates, or the rate at which OAG develops in a population within a defined time period, provide the best epidemiological clues to its cause. Particularly the relationship between risk factors and the development of the disease is much closer. Again, it became clear that a black population is at higher risk for the development of OAG. The four-year risk of developing OAG was 2.2% or approximately 0.55% per year. These incidence rates increased with age. Data on incidence rates are scarce, but the numbers presented here confirm those suggested in other studies. For several reasons, it is probably a conservative estimate. Intraocular pressure presented as a risk factor. Nine percent with an intraocular pressure over 21 mmHg developed glaucoma, whereas only 1.2% of those with a pressure at or lower than 21 mmHg did so. Pressure is also an insensitive factor because some of the patients who developed glaucoma did not have pressure over 21 mmHg. The author also comments on the fact that we still seem to detect glaucoma at a relatively late stage. At the moment, we know more about the incidence in black populations than in white, Hispanic, or native American populations.
Dr D.C. Musch, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Michigan, 1000 Wall Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA
Classification:
1.1 Epidemiology (Part of: 1 General aspects)
