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Study: Screening family members of glaucoma patients most effective for glaucoma detection
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BOSTON — The most efficient way to detect primary open-angle glaucoma cases may be by screening first-degree relatives with the disease, a study found.
"Due to its low prevalence in the general population, screening for [primary open-angle glaucoma] may have a low predictive value of a positive test," S. Fabian Lerner, MD, and colleagues said in a poster presentation at the World Glaucoma Congress here. "Screening of high-risk groups may yield better results. If having a first-degree relative with glaucoma is a risk factor for developing the disease, a detection campaign focused in the relatives of glaucoma patients would have more probabilities of detection."
The study screened 61 relatives of 35 glaucoma patients for primary open-angle glaucoma and 50 control subjects older than 55 years. A complete ophthalmic examination was performed on each subject.
Dr. Lerner and colleagues found that 26.2% of family members of glaucoma patients were diagnosed with the disease. In comparison, 6% of control group subjects were diagnosed with the disease, a statistically significant difference.