Glaucoma: The Risk Factors (Part I)

Docplexus - Community of 380,000+ Doctors

Hi Renukaprasad A R, Glaucoma is optical neuropathy marked by the loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), which results in characteristic optic nerve head (ONH) damage and recognizable visual field abnormalities. Although increased intraocular pressure (IOP) is regarded as the major risk factor, there is emerging evidence that vascular factors play a key role in glaucoma etiology. In addition, age, gender (women being at a higher risk than men), family history, race/ethnicity (African-American), descendants having a higher risk of developing glaucoma, and patients with near-sightedness are the general risk factors associated with glaucoma. Systemic and ocular vascular factors are also linked with this condition. Some of the ocular risk factors include central corneal thickness (CCT), splinter/disc hemorrhage, retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), and cup-to-disc ratio. Check out PART I of this post, which enumerates ocular risk factors and their role in glaucoma progression. Click to Read If you don't want to receive these emails in the future, please unsubscribe.