advertisement
Abstract #127149 Published in IGR 25-3
Prevalence of Glaucoma in Europe and Projections to 2050: Findings from the European Eye Epidemiology Consortium
Stuart KV; de Vries VA; de Vries VA; de Vries VA; de Vries VA; Schuster AK; Yu Y; van der Heide FCT; Delcourt C; Cougnard-Grégoire A; Schweitzer C; Brandl C; Zimmermann ME; Heid IM; Farinha C; Coimbra R; Luben RN; Hayat S; Khaw KT; Stingl JV; Pfeiffer N; Berendschot TTJM; Arnould L; Creuzot-Garcher C; Hogg R; Wright DM; Azuara-Blanco A; Vergroesen JE; Klaver CCW; Ramdas WD; Topouzis F; Giannoulis DA; Bikbov MM; Kazakbaeva GM; Jonas JB; Jansonius NM; Bourne RRA; Quigley HA; Foster PJ; Khawaja AP;Ophthalmology 2025; 132: 1114-1124
See also comment(s) by Nicholas Tan & Ching-Yu Cheng •
PURPOSE: To provide updated glaucoma prevalence estimates and to quantify the current and future burden of disease in Europe. DESIGN: Two-stage, individual participant data meta-analysis. PARTICIPANTS: We included 55 415 adults ≥40 years of age (mean age, 65.6 years; 53.9% women) from 14 population-based studies (1991-2020) with case ascertainment based on direct ophthalmic examination. METHODS: Within each study, age- and sex-stratified glaucoma prevalence was calculated, before pooling results using random-effects meta-analysis and performing age standardization. Meta-regression and subgroup analyses were used to assess for temporal trends and to investigate heterogeneity across clinically relevant subgroups. Estimates were applied to European population projections to predict the number of individuals with glaucoma. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Age-standardized prevalence (European Standard Population, 2013) of total and previously undiagnosed glaucoma for individuals ≥40 years of age and annual projected number of glaucoma cases (UN World Population Prospects, 2022) in Europe to 2050. RESULTS: Overall, 2021 participants (3.65%) received a diagnosis of glaucoma with an age-standardized European prevalence of 2.99% (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.86%-3.12%). Older age (odds ratio [OR], 1.32 per 5-year increase; 95% CI, 1.29-1.36; P < 0.001) and male sex (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.08-1.30; P < 0.001) were associated with higher prevalence. Despite regional and diagnostic differences in prevalence estimates, no temporal trend was identified. More than half (56.4%) of cases were undiagnosed previously, with a higher proportion of undetected disease in younger participants, including >80% in those <55 years of age. We estimate a current burden of 12.3 million individuals with glaucoma in Europe, including 6.9 million individuals with undiagnosed disease. This burden is projected to grow by >1 million people by 2050 because of changing population age structure, with a preponderance of primary open-angle glaucoma. CONCLUSIONS: The current and future burden of glaucoma in Europe may be substantially higher than previously estimated, with a considerable proportion of disease in the general population remaining undetected. This may have broader implications for other age-related conditions in which the number of affected individuals is based solely on published aggregate-level data. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE(S): Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article.
NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: kelsey.stuart@ucl.ac.uk.
Full article