Glaucoma English Edition high res

Glaucoma Statistics
Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of
irreversible blindness, where damage to the
optic nerve leads to loss of visual function.
Dr Guddeti Praveena
Why is it important to know the statistics,
percentages, proportions or the number of people
affected with glaucoma?
The prevalence is the proportion of a population with the disease
at a given point of time. Hence, the answer to this question is
that the awareness about its prevalence alerts individuals to
the disease. This is necessary as early diagnosis, and therefore
early intervention, is crucial in delaying the progression of the
disease process.
What is Diabetic
Retinopathy?
Diabetic retinopathy is a serious complication of diabetes where tiny blood vessels inside the retina
are damaged, causing them to bleed or leak fluid, leading to vision complications or even vision loss.
How many people are affected by glaucoma?
A recent systematic review estimated that the number of
people aged between 40 - 80 years with glaucoma worldwide
is 64.3 million, and that it will increase to 76 million in 2020 and
111.8 million in 2040. The number of people blind and visually
impaired due to glaucoma worldwide will be 2.1 million and 4.2
million respectively.
How many people are affected by glaucoma in India?
In India, the estimated number of cases of glaucoma is 12
million. This is around one fifth of global burden of glaucoma.
What are the different types of glaucoma and what is
the prevalence of different types of glaucoma?
There are different types of glaucomas like primary open angle
glaucoma, angle closure glaucoma, congenital glaucoma and
secondary glaucoma.
> Prevalence of primary open angle glaucoma ranges from
0.41 to 2.99%.
> Prevalence of angle closure glaucoma is between 0.88 to
7.24 %.
> Prevalence of congenital glaucoma in South India is one in
every 3300 children.
> One of the risk factors for glaucoma known as the
pseudoexfoliation is an abnormal material formed in the eye
which can cause high pressures in the eye. The prevalence of
pseudoexfoliation glaucoma is reported to be between 1.87
and 13.5%.
> Studies have reported the prevalence of secondary
glaucomas to be 0.08 to 0.3%.
The highest rate of blindness in India is at least partially explained by the large proportion of the undiagnosed disease
in the population based studies.So, get yourself screened for glaucoma and save your vision!
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Narayana Nethralaya | Ranked Among The Top 10 Eye Hospitals in India Since A Decade www.narayananethralaya.org 27