Glaucoma burden and its profile in a tertiary care centre of North-East India: A retrospective hospital-based study

To estimate the proportion and pattern distribution of glaucoma disease in a teaching hospital of North-East India.

Retrospective hospital-based study of glaucoma cases from January 2014 to December 2022.

Out of a total of 89725 new patients, 449 patients had glaucoma with a prevalence of 0.50% (95% CI: 0.46%-0.55%) of which 361 (80.4%) were ≥40 years and 88 (19.6%) were <40 years. The commonest type was POAG (32.1%) followed by PACG (17.6%) while JOAG was 7.8%. Males (67.2%) were predominant with a male: female ratio of 2.0:1. The mean age of patients was 53.4 (17.1) years. PACG was found to be significantly higher among females (p=0.001) whereas POAG was higher among males (p=0.003). There was no association of either age or systemic conditions with the prevalence of POAG and PACG. Hypertension and diabetes were present among 139 (31.0%) and 103 (23.0%) respectively while 13 (2.9%) had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), 5 had coronary artery disease (CAD) and 5 hypothyroidism.

The prevalence of glaucoma though lower compared to other parts of the country, the number was significant, warranting screening activities owing to its silent nature. PACG was significantly higher among females while POAG was higher among males. Systemic factors like COPD, CAD and hypothyroidism require further studies for better understanding of the temporal association with glaucoma.