PerspectiveAn Assessment of the Health and Economic Burdens of Glaucoma
Section snippets
Methods
Publications in English from 1991 through December 2010 on the topics of the epidemiology, economic burden, and individual burden of glaucoma were reviewed. In addition to author identification of important articles, Medline searches (and Embase and IPD for epidemiology) were conducted to identify additional relevant articles using combinations of keywords with “glaucoma” including “prevalence,” “incidence,” “epidemiology,” “cost,” “resource,” and “quality of life.” Searches were intended to
Epidemiology
The prevalence of glaucoma is increasing worldwide (Figure 2).1 Globally, an estimated 60.5 million people (2.65% of the global population over 40) suffered from glaucoma in 2010. Of these, an estimated 44.7 million had primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and 15.7 million primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG). The prevalence of glaucoma is expected to reach 79.6 million in 2020, impacting all countries, although the largest increases are expected to be in China and India, which together will
Economics of Glaucoma
The prevalence of glaucoma contributes to significant costs that are both direct and indirect.13 Direct medical costs include ocular hypotensive medication(s), physician and hospital visits, and glaucoma-related procedures while direct nonmedical costs include transportation, government purchase programs, guide dogs, and nursing home care. Indirect costs reflect lost productivity, such as days missed from work, and can include the productivity costs borne by caregivers such as family members
Individual Burden of Glaucoma
Glaucoma impacts patients' health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in multiple ways, including driving, walking, and reading. The psychological burden increases as vision decreases, along with a growing fear of blindness, social withdrawal from impaired vision, and depression. The components of a good HRQoL differ among individuals, but having enough visual ability is a high priority. HRQoL is a concept that reflects a person's well-being and that focuses on dimensions of physical functioning,
Comment
Glaucoma is common, on the rise, underdiagnosed, costly, distressing to those affected and their families, and disabling. As the population increases, so does the absolute number of glaucoma sufferers. In addition, with glaucoma prevalence increasing exponentially with age, glaucoma numbers are rising with the rapidly aging population. Glaucoma patients are estimated to rise in number from 60 million in 2010 to nearly 80 million in 2020, with more than half in developed societies remaining
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