Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Aug;154(2):303-314.e3.
doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2012.02.024. Epub 2012 Apr 27.

The changing face of primary open-angle glaucoma in the United States: demographic and geographic changes from 2011 to 2050

Thasarat S Vajaranant  1 , Shuang Wu, Mina Torres, Rohit Varma
Affiliations

The changing face of primary open-angle glaucoma in the United States: demographic and geographic changes from 2011 to 2050

Thasarat S Vajaranant et al. Am J Ophthalmol. 2012 Aug.

Abstract

Purpose: To examine how demographic and geographic variations in US populations from 2011 to 2050 will contribute to estimated numbers of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) cases.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: Prevalence rates from selected population-based studies were used to estimate the number of persons aged 40 years and older with POAG in the United States. For calculation, the age-, sex-, and race/ethnicity-specific prevalence rates were multiplied by the US Census estimates and projections from 2011 to 2050. Main outcome measures are estimated numbers of persons with POAG in different age, sex, and racial/ethnic groups and total and per capita POAG rates by state.

Results: In 2011, 2.71 million persons in the United States have POAG, with the highest estimated number among populations aged 70 to 79 years (31%), women (53%), and non-Hispanic whites (44%). The largest demographic group is non-Hispanic white women. In 2050, an estimated 7.32 million persons will have POAG, with the highest number among populations aged 70 to 79 years (32%), women (50%), and Hispanics (50%). The largest demographic group will shift to Hispanic men. During the next 40 years, the highest per capita POAG rates will double in New Mexico, Texas, and Florida.

Conclusions: Despite the high prevalence of POAG in African Americans and Hispanics, the largest group in the United States is currently among older non-Hispanic white women but is expected to shift to Hispanic men over the next few decades. Given this shift, the greatest yield from screening programs is likely to be in those states with high numbers of non-Hispanic white women and Hispanic men.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Estimated number of primary open-angle glaucoma cases in the US by age group (all persons)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Estimated number of primary open-angle glaucoma cases in the US by age group (men)
Figure 3
Figure 3
Estimated number of primary open-angle glaucoma cases in the US by age group (women)
Figure 4
Figure 4
Estimated number of persons with primary open-angle glaucoma in the US by sex.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Estimated number of primary open-angle glaucoma cases in the US by race/ethnicity (all persons). NHW=Non-Hispanic White; AA= African American; Hisp.= Hispanic/Latino.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Estimated number of primary open-angle glaucoma cases in the US by race/ethnicity (men). NHW=Non-Hispanic White; AA= African American; Hisp.= Hispanic/Latino.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Estimated number of primary open-angle glaucoma cases in the US by race/ethnicity (women). NHW=Non-Hispanic White; AA= African American; Hisp.= Hispanic/Latino.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Per capita burden of Open-Angle Glaucoma in each state in the United States in 2011
Figure 9
Figure 9
Per capita burden of Open-Angle Glaucoma in each state in the United States in 2050
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Quigley HA, Broman AT. The number of people with glaucoma worldwide in 2010 and 2020. Br J Ophthalmol. 2006;90(3):262–267. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Friedman DS, Wolfs RC, O’Colmain BJ, et al. Prevalence of open-angle glaucoma among adults in the United States. Arch Ophthalmol. 2004;122(4):532–538. - PMC - PubMed
    1. National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2008 With Special Feature on the Health of Young Adults. Hyattsville, Md: Dept. of Health and Human Services; 2009. [Accessed January 31, 2012]. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus08.pdf. - PubMed
    1. Varma R, Ying-Lai M, Francis BA, et al. Prevalence of open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension in Latinos: the Los Angeles Latino Eye Study. Ophthalmology. 2004;111(8):1439–1448. - PubMed
    1. Foster PJ, Oen FT, Machin D, et al. The prevalence of glaucoma in Chinese residents of Singapore: a cross-sectional population survey of the Tanjong Pagar district. Arch Ophthalmol. 2000;118(8):1105–1111. - PubMed

Publication types