Purpose:
Early detection of glaucoma enables beginning of therapy at an earlier stage, and may improve outcome. Screening of large populations at risk is likely to help in achieving this goal.
Methods:
Public awareness campaign was carried out in electronic and paper media in Israel during the 2010 World Glaucoma Week, culminating in a one-day, free-of-charge screening of individuals in 12 outreach locations throughout Israel. Cases with a prior diagnosis of glaucoma or ocular hypertension were excluded. Screening was performed by 30 ophthalmologists, members of the Israel Glaucoma Screening Group, and included medical history, slit-lamp exam, including gonioscopy and intraocular pressure (IOP), and fundus exam with evaluation of cup/disc ratio. When necessary, further evaluation at an ophthalmology clinic was recommended.
Results:
1296 individuals were screened, 702 females and 594 males. All were older than 30, mean age was 60±12. The table shows the number of eyes and cases with elevated IOP and with enlarged cupping.The number of cases with both IOP≥21 and cupping ≥0.5, apparently suggestive of preperimetric glaucoma, increased with age: it was found in 20 cases 50 years or older (1.9%), compared to none among younger individuals (p=0.04). Likewise, cupping ≥0.7 was observed in 5.6% of those aged ≥50, compared to only 1.8% of younger individuals (p=0.02). The combined IOP ≥21 and cupping ≥0.5 was significantly more common in women compared to men (2.4% and 0.5% respectively, p=0.01). Further ophthalmologic evaluation was recommended to 185 of the screened individuals (14.2%).
Conclusions:
Outreach screening for glaucoma is a valuable tool for detecting glaucoma or ocular hypertension in a meaningful number of previously undiagnosed cases. The yield of such screening is increased in those older than 50 and in women.
Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence • intraocular pressure