Incidence of Glaucoma Progression and Rate of Visual Field Deterioration in a Cohort of Urban Ghanaians

Précis: The annual incidence of glaucoma progression (9.7%) and rates of visual field mean deviation (MD) change in progressors (−1.02±0.06 dB/y) are high in a small cohort of urban Ghanaians. Purpose: To report the incidence of glaucoma progression and the rate of visual field deterioration in a small cohort of Ghanaians. Methods: One hundred ten subjects (204 eyes) diagnosed with glaucoma at a baseline population-based screening examination were re-examined a mean of 8.3±0.8 years later. Eyes were classified as having progressed if the optic disc alone, visual field alone or both showed significant glaucomatous changes on follow-up. Visual field MD was used to calculate the rate of visual field progression. Results: Progression was observed in 89 (80.9%, 9.7%/year) subjects (130 eyes). Progression occurred in 32 (31.7%, 3.8%/year) subjects by optic disc alone (46 eyes), 38 (44.7%, 5.4%/year) subjects by visual field alone (58 eyes), and 19 (25.0%, 3.0%/year) subjects by both modalities (26 eyes). The average rate of change in MD differed significantly between progressors (−1.02±1.06 dB/y) and nonprogressors (+0.089±0.49 dB/y), P=0.001. The rate of visual field worsening was greater among those who were classified as having progressed by both structure and function (−1.29±0.68 dB/y) and by function alone (−1.21±1.20 dB/y) than by structure alone (−0.55±0.76 dB/y). Progression was significantly associated with older age [...
Source: Journal of Glaucoma - Category: Opthalmology Tags: New Glaucoma Insights: Original Studies Source Type: research