New Survey Shows Americans Still Risking Blindness From Glaucoma

SAN FRANCISCO--(BW HealthWire)--Jan. 12, 2000--According to a new survey by the Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF), Americans continue to risk blindness from glaucoma.

Although 74% of adult Americans surveyed get their eyes examined at least every two years, only 61% of them (45% of all adult Americans) report that they have a dilated eye exam, one of the best ways to detect optic nerve damage from glaucoma. This means that 55% of Americans are not receiving the eye test that could save their sight and may have undetected glaucoma.

Glaucoma is a progressive eye disease that destroys peripheral/side vision first and if left untreated, leads to blindness. It is a leading cause of preventable blindness in the U.S. and the single most common cause of blindness in African-Americans.

ICR, Inc. in Media, Pa., conducted the survey for GRF during the last week of December 1999 so that survey results would be available for January's National Glaucoma Awareness Month. The results were drawn from telephone interviews with 1,012 American adults age 18 and over. The survey was funded in part by an unrestricted educational grant from Pharmacia & Upjohn.

"The good news is that most Americans are getting their eyes examined regularly," said Tara Steele, President & CEO of the Glaucoma Research Foundation. "The bad news is that they may not be getting the tests they need to prevent blindness from glaucoma."

Everyone is at risk for glaucoma. Higher risk groups include people over age 60, relatives of people with glaucoma, African-Americans, and people with diabetes.

"We recommend that individuals in high risk groups for developing glaucoma get a thorough eye exam through dilated eyes every two years," Steele added. "We used to think that the 'puff test' that is commonly done, called air puff tonometry, was enough to detect glaucoma because it measures increases in eye pressure that usually cause vision loss. But now we know that the 'puff test' is not enough since some people have damage to the optic nerve even though their eye pressure is within normal limits."

Even more frightening is that some of the people at greatest risk for glaucoma do not know anything about it. Glaucoma is 6 to 8 times more common in African-Americans than in Caucasians, yet 16.1% of African-Americans surveyed did not know anything about glaucoma while only 8.8% of Caucasians were unfamiliar with glaucoma.

"Glaucoma is a major public health concern," said Steele. "We don't know how to cure glaucoma yet, but we do know how to treat it and save sight if it is caught early. That means that those at most risk need to get their eyes checked regularly and thoroughly," Steele added.

The Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF) is doing its part to make sure that happens. GRF offers a free risk factor assessment that takes just a few moments to complete, resources to help people locate an eye care professional, and information for people who already know they have glaucoma. All of these resources are available free of charge by visiting GRF's website at www.glaucoma.org or by calling GRF's toll-free glaucoma infoline at 800/826-6693.

The Glaucoma Research Foundation is a national tax-exempt charitable organization dedicated to protecting the sight and independence of people with glaucoma through research and education. GRF's goal is to find a cure.

Pharmacia & Upjohn markets several ophthalmic pharmaceutical and surgical products including Xalatan, a medication used in the treatment of glaucoma.

CONTACT:

Glaucoma Research Foundation

Tara Steele/Sandra Gumpert, 415/986-3162 or 800/826-6693

tsteele@glaucoma.org or sgumpert@glaucoma.org

www.glaucoma.org