Bharathi N1, B. L. Sujatha Rathod2, Jyothi B. Patil3, Shobha T4
PURPOSE: To determine the prevalence and types of glaucoma in rural patients posted for cataract surgery under eye camps at a tertiary care hospital.
BACKGROUND: Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the adult population in India. The global prevalence of glaucoma for population aged 40 to 80 years is estimated to be 3.54% and the projected number of people with glaucoma worldwide will increase to 111.8 million in 2040. This creates a need for early diagnosis and prompt management of glaucomas especially in the underprivileged rural areas that lack awareness and facilities.
METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted at a regional ophthalmic center for all the patients posted for cataract surgery under eye camps. Study was carried out for duration of one year and included 1400 patients. The patients underwent detailed workup to detect the presence of glaucomas and were treated accordingly if the disease was detected.
RESULTS: The overall prevalence of glaucoma in our study population was 2.14%. Amongst them, 0.78% had primary open angle glaucoma, 0.14% had primary angle closure glaucoma and 1.21% of them had pseudoexfoliative glaucoma. The prevalence of glaucomas increased with increasing age.
CONCLUSION: With increasing life expectancy the number of glaucoma patients is constantly growing large in our country. Early case detection rate is of utmost importance to reduce the disease burden in the rural population where awareness in terms of routine eye screening is very low.
