Influence of gender, inheritance factor and age in glaucoma occurrence and progress

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Glaucoma, one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness in the elderly population worldwide, is a progressive optic neuropathy. Risk factors for glaucoma have been explored and published in many studies. Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is, as is well known, the highest risk for glaucoma. Studies show that reducing IOP reduces the risk of developing the disease or slows the progression of glaucoma. There is growing evidence that other risk factors such as age, sex, race, refraction, heredity, and systemic diseases play a role in the pathogenesis of glaucoma. The risk factors for glaucoma can be divided into systemic and local. Systemic risk factors are blood pressure: hypotension or hypertension, vasospasm, diabetes, chronic heart disease, hypercholesterolemia, thyroid disease, etc. Local risk factors are parapapillary atrophy, intraocular pressure, papillary excavation, certain diseases of the anterior or posterior segment of the eye, central corneal thickness, fluctuations in IOP, etc. RESOURCES AND METHODS: A case-control study was performed, which included patients aged 25 to 70.The study was conducted at the Clinic for Eye Diseases, in Skopje, in the Glaucoma Cabinet, in the period from 2015-2019.The study included 100 patients, who were divided into two groups. About the patients in the study, a comprehensive medical history was made, as well as a history of the condition, age, sex, family history, hereditary factor, and whether the patient was using anti glaucoma therapy. RESULTS: In determining the significance of the contribution to the prediction of glaucoma, it was found that the age of the patients had the greatest influence (Wald = 5.05 / p <0.05 (p = 0.025), followed by the family history (Wald = 0.04 / p> 0 , 05 (p = 0.84) and the weakest is the influence of the sex of the patients (Wald = 0.01 / p> 0.05 (p = 0.94)