Prevalence of Angle-Closure Disease in a Rural Southern Indian Population

Abstract

There is a growing acceptance that the prevalence and predominant type of glaucoma show racial variability. Population-based surveys in the age group 40 years and older in different races have shown large variations in primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG). The prevalence rates are highest for the Eskimo population (2.6%-5.0%)^1-3 and lowest for the white population.⁴ In between these come the Mongol (1.4%),⁴ Chinese,⁵ and Thai populations (0.9%).⁶ In India, 3 studies conducted in southern states have shown varied prevalence of PACG (0.5%-4.3%).^7-9 This is probably due to the different definitions used by the studies for occludable angles and angle-closure glaucoma. We adopted the definitions suggested by the International Society of Geographical and Epidemiological Ophthalmology (ISGEO)¹⁰ in this study and report our data on prevalence of PACG and its associated factors in a rural population in southern India.