Prevalence of Primary Open Angle Glaucoma among Patients with Diagnosis of Systemic Hypertension and Diabetes Mellitus: The Colombian Glaucoma Study

Objective: To establish the prevalence and risk factors of Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG) among patients with Systemic Hypertension (SH) and Diabetes Mellitus (DM) in six cities of Colombia. Methods: A cross-sectional study among hypertensive and diabetic patients was conducted in Colombia. This study included 2067 subjects older than 50 years of age diagnosed with SH and/or DM. Participants underwent a complete ophthalmic examination including intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement by Goldmann tonometry and blood pressure measurement. The glaucoma diagnosis was confirmed by structural and functional evidence. Interviews and standardized questionnaires were used to evaluate participants’ lifestyle and other health conditions. Results: Among participants with DM/SH, 142 cases of POAG were confirmed for a prevalence of 5.6% [95% CI: 4.6 - 6.6], while 9.1% were glaucoma suspects [95% CI: 7.8% - 10.4%]. The majority of confirmed cases (77.5%) were undiagnosed. The prevalence of POAG was significantly higher with male gender, greater age, and diastolic blood pressure > 90 mmHg as risk factors. Conclusion: We found a high prevalence of POAG in patients with adequate SH and DM care in a novel Latino population. We also found great unawareness of the disease in this population. Our results have potentially enormous public health implications for Colombia and other Latino populations.