Prevalence of open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension in Latinos: The Los Angeles Latino Eye Study☆
Presented in part at: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting, May, 2003; Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Received 21 November 2003; accepted 28 January 2004.
Abstract
Objective
To estimate age- and gender-specific prevalences of ocular hypertension and open-angle glaucoma (OAG) in adult Latinos.
Design
Population-based, cross-sectional study.
Participants
Six thousand three hundred fifty-seven Latinos 40 years and older from 6 census tracts in Los Angeles, California.
Methods
The study cohort consisted of all self-identified Latinos of primarily Mexican ancestry 40 years and older residing in 6 census tracts in La Puente, California. All participants underwent a complete ophthalmologic examination, including measurement of intraocular pressure (IOP), visual field (VF) testing using an automated field analyzer, and simultaneous stereoscopic fundus photography of the optic disc. Ocular hypertension was defined as IOP of >21 mmHg and the absence of optic disc damage or abnormal VF test results. Open-angle glaucoma was defined as the presence of an open angle and various criteria that included a glaucomatous VF abnormality and/or evidence of glaucomatous optic disc damage in at least one eye.
Main outcome measures
Prevalence of open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension.
Results
For the 6142 participants who underwent a complete ophthalmologic examination at the clinical center, the prevalence of OAG was 4.74% (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.22%–5.30%). The prevalence of ocular hypertension was 3.56% (95% CI, 3.12%–4.06%). The prevalences of OAG and ocular hypertension were higher in older Latinos than in younger Latinos (P<0.0001). No gender-related differences in prevalences of OAG and ocular hypertension were present. The mean IOP, mean deviation, and mean vertical cup–disc ratio in persons with OAG were 17 mmHg, −9.6 decibels, and 0.6, respectively. Seventy-five percent of Latinos with OAG and 75% of Latinos with ocular hypertension were previously undiagnosed. Further, 17% of Latinos with OAG and 23% of Latinos with ocular hypertension had received treatment for “glaucoma.”
Conclusion
Our data suggest that the prevalence of OAG is high among Latinos of Mexican ancestry. The higher prevalence of OAG in older Latinos emphasizes the public health importance of providing eye care services for the early diagnosis and management of this condition in Latinos.
1Doheny Eye Institute and the Department of Ophthalmology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
2Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
3Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas, USA
Correspondence and reprint requests to Rohit Varma, MD, MPH, Doheny Eye Institute, Suite 4900, 1450 San Pablo Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
This work was supported by the National Eye Institute and the National Centeron Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland (grant nos.: EY11753, EY03040), and an unrestricted grant from the Research to Prevent Blindness, New York, New York. Dr Varma is a Research to Prevent Blindness Sybil B. Harrington Scholar.
The authors have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in the article.
* See Ref. 8 for members of the Los Angeles Latino Eye Study Group.
ABSTRACT