Prevalence of glaucoma in hospitalized older adults with Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence of glaucoma in older adults with dementia of the alzheimer's type (DAT).

Methods: retrospective chart review: the prevalence of glaucoma was determined in older adults with a diagnosis of DAT or mixed dementia (DAT with vascular contribution) admitted to the geriatric and neurology units of the Centre hospitalier de l'université de Montréal and the hôpital Maisonneuve-rosemont between april 2008 and april 2009 (n=220; DAT group). they were matched for age and date of hospitalisation to the first 220 individuals without dementia (control group) recruited from other medical units in the same hospitals: gastroenterology, internal medicine or cardiology. a diagnosis of glaucoma was deemed positive if recorded in the chart or if there was a medication compatible with this diagnosis. Chi-square tests were used for between-group comparisons.

Results: Subjects' age ranged from 66 to 101 years. the prevalence of glaucoma was 6.8% in our study population (n=30/440). glaucoma was significantly more prevalent in the DAT group (n= 21; 9.5%) than in the control group (n= 9; 4.1%) [χ₁² = 5.15; p = 0.023].

Conclusions: the prevalence of glaucoma was higher in a group of older adults with DAT than in a comparable control group. these results underscore the importance of providing regular eyecare for persons affected by DAT.