Eyeworld

50 | EYEWORLD |JULY 2019 G UCOMA PRESENTATION SPOTLIGHT Contact information Januleviciene: ingrida.januleviciene@lsmuni.lt by Stefanie Petrou Binder, MD EyeWorld Contributing Writer While glaucoma-related blindness is treat- able and preventable, its high rate in Europe has been attributed to largely subjective factors, such as noncompliance, late presentation, great- er severity of the disease at the time of diag- nosis, and a general lack of knowledge among patients. These factors result in lost productivity and increased disability, with patients unable to read, drive, or move around on their own. There are different definitions of blindness. Studies on the subject have defined blindness as a simple loss of visual acuity, a visual field constriction of less than 20 degrees of fixation, visual acuity of 20/200 or worse, or a mean deviation of –22 dB, Dr. Januleviciene said. Glaucoma prevalence rises rapidly once patients reach their 70s. According to a meta- analysis, the global prevalence of glaucoma for persons aged 40–80 years is 3.54%. In 2014, this represented 64.4 million people worldwide, estimated to be 76 million by 2020 and 111.8 million by 2040. 1 Binocular glaucoma blindness was noted in 6.7 million individuals in 2000, 8.5 million in 2010, and is estimated to reach more than 11 million by 2020. 2 The implementation of modern imaging technologies is vital for glaucoma screening, treatment, and targeted public health strategies G laucoma is the third most com- mon cause of blindness in Europe, following cataract and AMD. Data from the World Health Organiza- tion (WHO) show that by 2020, the rate of glaucoma-related blind- ness in Europe will rise to 13.9%, exceeding the worldwide rate of 8.43%. Ingrida Januleviciene, MD, discussed relevant studies and statistics associated with glaucoma blind- ness at the 36th Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons "The percentage of glaucoma blindness in Europe is high and expected to rise further by 2020," Dr. Januleviciene said. "Life-long glauco- ma requires attention. People are living longer, the population is expanding, and this leads to an increasing number of individuals who are at risk of visual impairment." WHO statistics reveal that 90% of blind- ness is found in the developing world, of which 75% is either treatable or preventable. "The question is, how can we explain the other 10%, specifically blindness in Europe? Restoration of sight is one of the most cost-effective interventions in healthcare, and the successful implementation of Vision 2020 programs can result in potential saving of $102 billion in lost productivity by the year 2020," she said. Blindness from glaucoma rising in Europe About the doctor Ingrida Januleviciene, MD, PhD Professor of ophthalmology Eye Clinic of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Kaunas, Lithuania continued on page 52 Age standardized prevalence of blindness •From 1990 to 2015 prevalence of blindness, moderate and severe vision impairment for all ages decreased from 0.26% to 0.15% Europe Blind men Blind women Central 0.23 0.24 Eastern 0.23 0.24 Western 0.1 0.12 World 0.46 0.49 Bourne RRA, et al. Br J. Ophthalmol. 2018;102:575–585. From 1990 to 2015 prevalence of blindness, moderate and severe vision impairment for all ages decreased from 0.26% to 0.15% Source: Ingrida Januleviciene, MD

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