Family history in primary open-angle glaucoma
D. H. Shin, B. Becker and A. E. Kolker
A family history of glaucoma was found in 50% of patients with primary
open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and 43% of patients with ocular hypertension
(OH). Positive family history was twice as prevalent in those with OH and
either HLA-B7 or B12 antigens than in OH with neither antigen (P less than
.01). Although POAG occurred equally in men and women, the prevalence of a
positive family history of glaucoma on the maternal side of the family in
POAG patients was six to seven times greater than on the paternal side (P
less than .0005). However, in patients with OH, but no glaucomatous field
loss, there was no difference in prevalence of maternal and paternal family
history. Even in OH with HLA-B7 or B12 antigens, there was no predominance
of maternal family history. The implication that offspring were more likely
to develop POAG when their mother's side of the family rather than their
father's side had the disease has provided an additional potentially useful
risk factor in patients with OH. In addition, it has raised interesting
questions as to possible maternal cytoplasmic factors in the transmission
and pathogenesis of POAG.
