Page 14 - El Tejano February 2018

El Tejano Magazine
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African Americans and Glaucoma

After cataracts, glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in African Americans.
Half of those with glaucoma don't know they have it.

• Glaucoma strikes earlier and progresses faster in Afri- Does glaucoma treatment diff er?
can Americans.
Although treatment varies for all individuals, the overall
• The risk for glaucoma is 20% higher if glaucoma is in goal is to prevent further damage and sight loss from
your family. glaucoma. One way that eye doctors seek to meet this
goal is to aim for a target eye pressure.
African Americans belonging to any of these risk groups
have an even greater risk of developing glaucoma: In African Americans, glaucoma generally occurs earlier,
often with a greater rate of vision loss. Because of this,
• Over age 40 an eye doctor may work with a patient to target an eye
• Extreme nearsightedness pressure that may be lower than for other glaucoma
• Diabetes patients.
• Hypertension
• Prolonged steroid use It is important to note, however, that
treatments cannot be generalized.
Glaucoma occurs about fi ve times Each patient, regardless of race,
more often in African Americans. should continue to be evaluated on
Blindness from glaucoma is about the individual state of his or her
six times more common. In addition disease, with a target pressure and
to this higher frequency, glaucoma treatment plan unique to each patient.
often occurs earlier in life in Afri-
can Americans — on average, about Although much still needs to be
10 years earlier than in other ethnic learned about why African Americans
populations. are more at risk for glaucoma, one thing is certain. Early
diagnosis and treatment is key in preventing vision loss
African Americans should get a thorough check for glau- from glaucoma.
coma every one to two years after age 35.
Glaucoma Runs in Families
Why is there a diff erence?
Research has shown that siblings of persons diagnosed
The reasons for the higher rate of glaucoma and sub- with glaucoma have nearly a 10-fold increased risk of
sequent blindness among African Americans are still having glaucoma when compared to siblings of persons
unknown. However, research shows that African Amer- without glaucoma.
icans are genetically more at risk for glaucoma, making
early detection and treatment all the more important. This means that a 65 year old sibling of a European-de-
rived person has about a 10% chance of having glauco-
In studies such as the Baltimore Eye Survey and the ma, while a 65 year old sibling of an African American
Barbados Eye Study, researchers have investigated how has nearly a 20% chance of having glaucoma.
glaucoma aff ects diff erent black populations. Infor-
mation from these and other studies will help us better Clearly brothers and sisters of patients with glaucoma
understand the risk factors for African Americans, and can benefi t from regular eye examinations with special
eventually, in developing more eff ective treatments. attention to careful screening for glaucoma.

Thanks to Joanne Katz, ScD, and David S. Friedman,
Related Articles MD, MPH for contributing to this article.
Hispanic Americans and Latinos at Increased Glaucoma
Risk Glaucoma Facts and Stats
Glaucoma Risk Increases in Families: Spread the Word
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