ABSTRACT
Glaucoma is a major blinding condition and is more prevalent amongst the elderly. A population study of 479 elderly Chinese aged 60 years and older, and residing in Singapore was carried out to determine the prevalence of glaucoma. The overall glaucoma prevalence was 4.8% with normal tension glaucoma (61%) and primary angle closure glaucoma (26%) being the most prevalent forms of glaucoma. All cases were silent in presentation with 97% of cases previously undiagnosed. With the greying population in Singapore, the issue of screening the elderly for glaucoma should be considered.
Glaucoma is a major cause of world blindness in developing and developed nations. The WHO Global data on blindness show that over half of the blind due to glaucoma reside in Asia, the majority being Chinese.
This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to view the full article.
