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Abstract #3696 Published in IGR 4-2
Prevalence of glaucoma and normal intraocular pressure among adults aged 50 years or above in Shunyi county of Beijing
Zhao J; Sui R; Jia LChinese Journal of Ophthalmology 2002; 38: 335-339
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of glaucoma and normal intraocular pressure among older adults aged 50 years or above in the Shunyi county of Beijing. METHODS: Cluster sampling was used in randomly selecting 5555 individuals aged 50 years or above in Shunyi county in the fall of 1996. The examinees received the visual acuity and general eye examination, and in the meantime, attention was paid to ruling out glaucoma, including family and personal history of glaucoma, measurement of anterior chamber depth and intraocular pressure, and examination of the optic disc. RESULTS: The examinations regarding glaucoma were completed in 4880 individuals. The response rate was 87.85%. In this population, the prevalence of glaucoma was 2.07%. The prevalence of primary angle-closure glaucoma, primary open-angle glaucoma, and secondary glaucoma was 1.66%, 0.29%, and 0.12%, respectively. The prevalence of the variety of glaucoma increased with age. The visual function in 64.00% of glaucoma patients was damaged to a certain degree. The rate of bilateral blindness in glaucoma patients was 16.00%. These patients were all aged 60 years or more. The rates of unilateral blindness, bilateral low vision, and unilateral low vision were 17.00%, 23.00% and 8.00%, respectively. The mean and standard deviation of intraocular pressure in normal eyes was 13.53 ± 2.20 mmHg (1 mmHg = 0.133 kPa). The tendency for mean normal intraocular pressure decreases with age. CONCLUSIONS: Glaucoma is a serious eye disease leading to blindness, according to the prevalence and the visual function of the glaucoma patients. The mean intraocular pressure in normal eyes is lower than the expected value. The lower value (18 mmHg) of the upper limit of normal intraocular pressure should be used in screening older glaucoma patients. LA: Chinese
Dr. J. Zhao, Department of Ophthalmology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Eye Research Center of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100730, China. zjl@csc.pumch.ac.cn
Classification:
1.1 Epidemiology (Part of: 1 General aspects)
9.2.4 Normal pressure glaucoma (Part of: 9 Clinical forms of glaucomas > 9.2 Primary open angle glaucomas)
