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Glaucoma Risk Factors: Ethnicity and Glaucoma

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Abstract

The diagnosis of glaucoma of primary open-angle glaucoma requires the evaluation of multiple ophthalmic characte­ristics. Additionally, it is usefully to identify accompanying demographic factors that suggest populations at risk for the disease. The risk of the development and/or the progression of glaucoma can be influenced by the patient’s race, age, family history of glaucoma, intraocular pressure, central corneal thickness, and presence of certain systemic diseases. Epidemiologic studies have enabled us to better understand those features that place a patient at increased risk for the development of glaucomatous optic neuropathy. Studies have also highlighted that racial differences not only exist in the prevalence and incidence of glaucoma but also in those ophthalmic features that are critical in glaucoma detection. Succeeding chapters will focus explicitly on the diagnosis and management of various forms of glaucoma. In this chapter, we describe how the results of various epidemiologic studies, particularly as they relate to race and ethnicity, maybe used in the evaluation of the individual patient.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, USA

    M. Roy Wilson MD, MS

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Texas Tech Health Sciences Center – El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA

    Mark Gallardo MD

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  1. M. Roy Wilson MD, MS
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  2. Mark Gallardo MD
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. 2889 10th Avenue, N., Palm Springs, 33461, USA

    Paul N. Schacknow

  2. Casey Eye Institute, Dept. Ophthalmology, Oregon Health & Sciences University, SW. Terwilliger Blvd. 3375, Portland, 97201-4197, USA

    John R. Samples

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Wilson, M.R., Gallardo, M. (2010). Glaucoma Risk Factors: Ethnicity and Glaucoma. In: Schacknow, P., Samples, J. (eds) The Glaucoma Book. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-76700-0_10

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