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White women present largest glaucoma burden in US
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Non-Hispanic white women older than 80 years contribute the largest burden of primary open-angle glaucoma cases in the United States, according to a speaker.
"The largest group in the year 2010 happens to be non-Hispanic whites ... of European origin and ancestry," Rohit Varma, MD, MPH, said at Hawaiian Eye 2011.
Women present a higher burden of disease because they live longer than men, he said.
Dr. Varma and colleagues looked at prevalence rates of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) as reported in population-based studies and stratified them for age, gender, race/ethnicity and geographic location from 2010 through 2050.
Although African-Americans and Hispanics were thought to have the highest prevalence of POAG, non-Hispanic whites contribute almost 1.8 million cases to the 3.04 million cases in the United States, Dr. Varma said.
New Mexico was found to have the largest burden of POAG per capita because it has the largest population of older non-Hispanic individuals, Dr. Varma said.
Currently, women outnumber men by 31% in all race and ethnicity subgroups. However, by 2050, women are predicted to outnumber men by only 11% of an estimated 8 million POAG cases.
In addition, Hispanic men are predicted to contribute to the greatest burden of POAG, Dr. Varma said.
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Hawaiian Eye and Retina 2012 will be held January 15-20 at the Grand Wailea Resort & Spa in Maui. Learn more at OSNHawaiianEye.com or RetinaMeeting.com.