The Myopia Epidemic, Glaucoma Risk, Race, and Ethnicity —Another Piece of the Puzzle

The excellent article by Yao and colleagues in this issue of JAMA Ophthalmology adds to our knowledge about the association between myopia and glaucoma by investigating their association in specific racial and ethnic groups in a cross-sectional analysis of older adults using the California Medicare database. There is a worldwide epidemic of myopia and the numbers are continuing to increase. By 2050, it is estimated that about half of the world population will have myopia and about 10% will have high myopia. While the largest increase in myopia has occurred in Asian populations, the increase has been observed in the US and other countries worldwide. Moreover, myopia has been identified as a risk factor for primary open-angle glaucoma across geographic, racial, and ethnic groups in a number of epidemiologic studies with risk increasing with level of myopia severity. Data from the Beijing Eye Study further support this association by suggesting that the 10-year incidence of open-angle glaucoma is 7.3 times higher in eyes with high myopia compared with emmetropic eyes. The dramatic increase in myopia prevalence over time, combined with the global aging of the population, suggests that there will be a corresponding rise in the number of individuals with glaucoma, a leading cause of irreversible vision loss worldwide. As a result, better understanding of the patterns and reasons for the increased risk of glaucoma among people with myopia in different populations, races, and ethnici...
Source: JAMA Ophthalmology - Category: Opthalmology Source Type: research