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Lingam Vijaya, MS; Ronnie George, MS; Hemamalini Arvind, MS; M. Baskaran, DNB; Pradeep G. Paul, MSc; S. Ve Ramesh, BS; Prema Raju, BS; Govindasamy Kumaramanickavel, MD; Catherine McCarty, PhD

Arch Ophthalmol. 2006;124:403-409.

Objective  To estimate the prevalence of primary angle-closure glaucoma, primary angle closure (PAC), and primary angle-closure suspect (PACS) and its associated risk factors in a rural population in southern India.

Methods  Three thousand and nine hundred thirty-four (81.95%) of 4800 enumerated subjects aged 40 years or older underwent a complete ophthalmic examination, including compression gonioscopy. Glaucoma was diagnosed using International Society of Geographical and Epidemiological Ophthalmology classification.

Results  Data were analyzed for 3924 subjects (81.75%). Primary angle-closure glaucoma was diagnosed in 34 subjects (0.87%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.58 to 1.16) (27 women, 7 men). The mean intraocular pressure was 20.71 ± 9.24 mm Hg. One subject (2.94%) was blind. Twenty-eight subjects (0.71%; 95% CI, 0.45 to 0.98) were diagnosed to have PAC (21 women, 7 men). Eleven subjects (39.3%) had an intraocular pressure greater than 21 mm Hg, 13 subjects (46.43%) had peripheral anterior synechiae, and 4 subjects (14.29%) had both. Two hundred forty-six subjects (6.27%; 95% CI, 5.51 to 7.03) had PACS (168 women, 78 men). Primary angle closure and primary angle-closure glaucoma were more common in women (age-adjusted odds ratio, 3.02; 95% CI, 1.66 to 5.51) with an increasing prevalence with age. Increasing intraocular pressure was associated with the disease (odds ratio, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.09 to 1.19). There was no association with hypertension and hyperopia. Axial length and anterior chamber depth were longer in the normal group than in the 3 groups with angle closure (P<.05). Women had shorter axial lengths than men (P<.001) in the angle closure groups.

Conclusions  The overall prevalence of primary angle closures (PAC and primary angle-closure glaucoma) in a rural population of southern India was 1.58%. There was a female preponderance, and the disease tends to be asymptomatic.

Author Affiliations: Glaucoma Project, Vision Research Foundation, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, India (Drs Vijaya, George, Arvind, Baskaran, and Kumaramanickavel and Mss Paul, Ramesh, and Raju) and Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, Marshfield, Wis (Dr McCarty).

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