Purpose
To determine frequency of reported glaucoma and its associations in a cohort of 112,690 people.
Methods
UK Biobank is a multi-site community-based study of UK residents aged 40-69 years who are registered with the National Health Service. Participants received ophthalmology examination, health questionnaire, and were asked whether they had been diagnosed with glaucoma.
Results
1919 people (1.70%) reported a glaucoma diagnosis. Mean age is 61.4 years among those with glaucoma versus 56.7 years among those without (p<0.001). Frequency among people age 40-49 is 0.48%, among those age 50-59 is 1.18% (p<0.001), and among those age 60-70 is 2.7% (p<0.001). Frequency is lower among women (1.37%) versus men (2.10%, p=0.001). When ethnicity is considered, 1.62% whites, 3.28% blacks (p<0.001 compared to whites), 2.14% Asians (p=0.009), 1.55% Chinese (p=0.91), and 1.95% mixed/other (p=0.26) have glaucoma diagnosis. Mean Townsend deprivation index is higher among those with glaucoma (-0.72) versus those without (-0.95, p=0.001). Frequency of glaucoma is highest among those with low household income and decreases as income increases (2.39% for those with <£18000, 1.79% for £18000-30999, 1.43% for £31000-51999, 1.16% for £52000-100000, and 0.92% for >£100000); however, after adjusting for age, there is no significant association between income and glaucoma except for those in the lowest category. Mean cornea-corrected IOP in the right eye is 18.9 mmHg in those with glaucoma versus 16.0 mmHg in those without (p<0.001). Mean visual acuity in right eye is LogMar 0.09 among those with glaucoma versus 0.03 among those without (p<0.001).<br /> <br /> Multivariable regression shows significant association with older age (age 40-49 reference; age 50-59, OR 2.49; age 60-69, OR 5.41, p<0.001); male gender (OR 1.50, p<0.001); black or Asian ethnicity as compared to whites (blacks, OR 2.81, p<0.001; Asians, OR 1.46, p=0.006); income <£18000 (OR 1.27, p=0.001 compared to £31000 - 51999), higher IOP (OR 1.07 per mmHg, p<0.001); and worse visual acuity (OR 1.08 per 0.1 LogMar, p<0.001).
Conclusions
In the UK Biobank cohort, 1.7% of people report glaucoma diagnosis. Glaucoma is significantly associated with older age, higher IOP, and lower visual acuity, and is higher in men, non-white people, and those with lower income.