Who Is Affected By Glaucoma

content provided by Healthwise

Who is affected by glaucoma

Glaucoma of all types is the second most common cause of legal blindness in the United States and is the leading cause of legal blindness among African Americans. ¹

Open-angle glaucoma (OAG)

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

• OAG is more common in older people. The risk for 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 4 to 5 times more common among African Americans than other racial groups. 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 (2000). Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma (Preferred Practice Pattern). San Francisco: American Academy of Ophthalmology.

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

3. American Academy of Ophthalmology (2000). Primary Angle Closure (Preferred Practice Pattern). San Francisco: American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Credits

Last updated:	July 7, 2006
Author:	Robin Parks, MS
Reviewed By:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine, Carol L. Karp, MD - Ophthalmology
Editors:	Kathe Gallagher, MSW, Pat Truman