Research: Eye Health Should Focus on Early Diagnosis

It’s true that glaucoma can be a serious disease. A leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, glaucoma affects more than 2.7 million individuals aged 40 and older in the United States and 60.5 million people globally.

Here’s some good news coming out of recent research: The probability of blindness due to glaucoma has decreased by nearly half since 1980. Researchers speculate that advances in diagnosis and therapy are likely causes for the decrease, but caution that a significant proportion of patients still progress to blindness.

This study, published in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, was conducted by a team based at the Mayo Clinic. It is the first to assess long-term changes in the risk of progression to blindness and the population incidence of glaucoma-related blindness.

Researchers from Mayo Clinic College of Medicine found the 20-year probability and the incidence of blindness from glaucoma in at least one eye had decreased from 25.8 percent for subjects diagnosed between 1965 and 1980 to 13.5 percent for those diagnosed between 1981 and 2000. The incidence of blindness within 10 years of diagnosis also decreased from 8.7 per 100,000 to 5.5 per 100,000 for those groups, respectively. Fifteen percent of the patients diagnosed in the more recent timeframe still progressed to blindness.

By identifying trends in glaucoma, researchers hope to gain insight into managing this disease and providing people the resources they need.The National Eye Institute recommends that individuals age 60 and older have an eye exam at least every two years. 

To learn more about this report, visit http://www.aao.org/newsroom/release/probability-blindness-from-glaucoma-reduced.cfm.