Abstract
Purpose: :
Epidemiologic studies have revealed that more than half of glaucoma patients are unaware of their disease. The Tajimi Study, a recent population–based glaucoma survey in Japan, revealed that over 90% of people with open–angle glaucoma (OAG) were undiagnosed prior to the study. We studied the clinical features of the undiagnosed OAG patients found in the Tajimi study.
Methods: :
In 3021 participants of the study aged 40 years or older, 119 patients with definite OAG were found and 111 had been undiagnosed. The demographics and the test results of these 111 were analyzed.
Results: :
Six patients were with OAG with intraocular pressure (IOP) over 22 mmHg, 105 with IOP of 21 mmHg or lower, and 57 (62) were males (females). The age averaged 63.3±12.1 (mean ± SD) yrs. Thirty–three had bilateral OAG and 78 unilateral OAG. Patients with bilateral OAG was older by 7 yrs (P=0.007). All patients except 3 showed corrected visual acuity in the better–seeing eye better than 20/40 and IOP averaged 15.3±2.8 mmHg. The frequency doubling technology (FDT) C–20–1 screening program was reliably performed in 96% of them and one or more abnormal points (P<0.05) were found in 55%. Visual field examination with Humphrey Field Analyzer 30–2 SITA Standard program was reliably performed in 75 % of them and the mean deviation (MD) and pattern standard deviation averaged –5.40±5.35 and 6.19±4.60 dB, respectively. Thirty–three % of the OAG eyes showed MD better than –2.0 dB, while 18 % MD worse than –10 dB and bilateral OAG eyes had lower MD by 3.0 dB (P=0.003) than unilateral OAG eyes. Patients’ age showed significant correlation with MD (R=–0.25, P=0.001). Vertical cup/disc ratio averaged 0.71±0.07.
Conclusions: :
The undiagnosed Japanese OAG patients found in the Tajimi Study had mean age of 63.3 years and undiagnosed OAG eyes showed mean MD of –5.40 dB, mean IOP of 15.3 mmHg and mean vertical cup/disc ratio of 0.71. Patients' age negatively correlated with MD.
Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence • intraocular pressure • visual fields