Abstract
Purpose :
To compare progression of glaucoma among males and females with low and high socioeconomic status (SES), and various age groups.
Methods :
This retrospective longitudinal study included adults (≥30 years of age) with glaucoma with 5 or more reliable visual field (VF) tests. The first two VF tests were excluded to diminish any learning effect. Progression of glaucoma was calculated as a linear regression of mean deviation over time (dB/year). Reliability was defined as fixation loss and false negative less than 20%, and false positive less than 15% (manufacturer criteria). SES was determined by insurance type. Only the left eye of each patient was included in the analysis
Results :
This study included 562 (86.32%) African Americans, 83 (12.75%) whites and 6 (0.92%) other. For the SES analysis, 245 and 239 eyes with high and low SES were included, respectively. High and low SES groups had statistically similar severity of glaucoma (mean deviation; dB) at baseline in patients <65 years (-2.79±3.1vs. -3.06±4.20; p=0.11) and ≥65 years (-4.79±5.44 vs. -3.96±4.46; p=0.26). Females and males had statistically similar severity of glaucoma at baseline in patients <65 years (-3.16±4.42 vs. 3.97±4.66; p=0.09) and ≥65 years (-5.21±5.06 vs. -4.20±4.84; p=0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in progression rate (dB/year) between high (-0.13±0.42 dB/year) and low (-0.15±0.53 dB/year) SES groups; however, males had significantly worse progression rate in patients with high SES (Table 1). There was no statistically significant difference in mean intraocular pressure (IOP) during follow-up visits between high (15.45 ± 2.86 mm Hg) and low (15.64 ± 2.90 mm Hg) SES groups (p=0.52); however, males had significantly lower IOP than females in both high and low SES groups (Table 2). While the progression rate remains relatively stable with aging in females, it increases in males (Table 3).
Conclusions :
SES does not significantly effect progression rate of glaucoma of patients in this study. The progression rate of glaucoma remains relatively stable in females and increases in males with aging, while males had significantly lower mean IOP compared to females in different age groups. The result of our study may indicate the need for more IOP reduction among males with aging. African Americans involved 86.32% of the study participants; results of this study may not be generalized to other populations.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.