Glaucoma Statistics

U.S. Statistics

• Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness in the United States and the world.


• Approximately 2.8 million Americans have been diagnosed with open-angle glaucoma. Another 2.8 million may be living with the disease and not yet know it.


• It is likely that only 50% of people living with glaucoma are actually aware they have the disease.


• Between the ages of 18 and 44, 1 in 200 individuals will be affected by glaucoma. From ages 55 to 64, it is 1 in 50 people are living with glaucoma. From 65 to 74 it is 1 in 16. At the age of 75 years and older, this increases to 1 in 10 individuals (or 10.3%) who will be affected by glaucoma.


• In the U.S., where glaucoma accounts for 11% of all cases of blindness, it is the number two cause of blindness behind macular degeneration.

World Statistics

• Approximately 60.5 million people in the world have open-angle and angle-closure glaucoma. (2010 estimations)


• Of the 60.5 million people in the world with open-angle and angle-closure glaucoma, almost 45 million have the open-angle form and almost 16 million have the angle-closure form. (2010 estimations)


• It is estimated that the number of people with open-angle glaucoma and angle-closure glaucoma in the world will increase by 20 million to 80 million people over the decade between 2010 and 2020.

Cost/Economic Statistics

• Total U.S. health care expenditure, including Medicare, Medicaid, long-term care, loss of wages, and other indirect costs, for low vision including macular degeneration and glaucoma is $51 billion.


• Open-angle glaucoma costs the U.S. economy $2.86 billion every year in direct costs and productivity losses for Americans age 40 and over. Perspective: For 2004, it was estimated the total financial cost of major visual disorders age-related macular degeneration, cataract, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, refractive errors, visual impairment, and blindness among US residents aged 40 years or older was $35.4 billion, with $16.2 billion in direct medical costs, $11.1 billion in other direct costs, and $8 billion in productivity losses. Across all ages, approximately 17.8% of the total direct medical costs ($16.2 billion) were attributable to glaucoma. Outpatient and pharmaceutical services comprised the majority of direct medical costs, with inpatient costs accounting for virtually no costs.


• Approximately 5.6 million prescriptions were filled for glaucoma patients in 2001.


• Diagnosis and management of glaucoma are associated with considerable cost. One study (2007) looked at insurance claims, finding the mean primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) costs to be $1,570 US in the first year, and $1,458 US in following years. Most of these dollar amounts were not pharmacy related. This accounted for about 10% of the patients' total health care costs. A retrospective study in Sweden and the U.S. (1998) calculated the mean total POAG costs over 2 years to be $1,972 US and $2,188 US. In another U.S. chart review study (2006), mean POAG cost per year ranged from $623 US per patient to $2,511 US per patient for end stage disease.


• The average cost in 2004 per glaucoma patient age 40 to 64 using inpatient services was $2,270. The average cost per patient 65 years and older was $4,929.


• A 2007 study of glaucoma patients found that, compared with control subjects, they were over 3 times more likely to have fallen in the previous year, over 6 times more likely to have been involved in 1 or more motor vehicle collisions in the previous five years, and more likely to have been at fault in the collision.

Ethnic Statistics

• In the United States, the major type of glaucoma, called open-angle glaucoma, strikes African Americans and Hispanics at higher rates than other ethnic groups.


• Age-related macular degeneration, open-angle glaucoma, cataract, and diabetic retinopathy are the most common eye diseases in Americans age 40 and over. The leading cause of blindness among white Americans is AMD, accounting for 54 percent of all blindness. In African Americans, the leading causes of blindness are cataract and [open-angle] glaucoma. Annual comprehensive eye examinations are essential for preventing and/or delaying eye disease for those at higher risk for blindness, such as those over age 65, people with diabetes, or African Americans over age 40.


• Open-angle glaucoma is almost three times as common in African Americans as in whites. Open-angle glaucoma accounts for 19% of all blindness among African Americans compared to 6% in Caucasians.


• The prevalence of open-angle glaucoma rises rapidly in Hispanics over age 65. Among Hispanics, open-angle glaucoma is the most common cause of blindness.


• The prevalence of open-angle glaucoma is substantially higher among African-derived and Hispanic persons than in European-derived.


• Among Latinos (predominately of Mexican ancestry), there is a high burden of open-angle glaucoma at 4-8 times higher than whites and similar to, or higher than African Americans (2004).


• African Americans are twice as likely to be visually impaired as are whites of comparable socioeconomic status. Studies conducted in the United States and the West Indies have shown that primary open-angle glaucoma exists in a substantially higher proportion of Caribbean blacks and African Americans than in whites.


• In African Americans, the incidence of glaucoma is up to six times higher in certain age groups compared to whites. Primary open-angle glaucoma in blacks is more likely to lead to irreversible blindness. Glaucoma occurs 10 years earlier and progresses more rapidly in black compared to white patients. Historically, blacks tend to be less aware that they may have glaucoma with its sight-threatening consequences, and they respond more poorly to therapy, whether medical or surgical.


• Open-angle glaucoma is up to four times more common in the black population than in the white population, with prevalence estimates of 4.2% to 8.8% for blacks and 1.1% to 3.0% for whites.


• Around the world, primary open-angle glaucoma is more frequent in whites and Afro-Caribbeans, while primary angle-closure glaucoma is more common in South-East Asia.


• Eye-care providers should be aware of the increased risk for open-angle glaucoma (OAG), narrow-angle glaucoma (NAG), and normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) among Asian Americans relative to other races (Vietnamese Americans, Pakistani Americans, and Chinese Americans for NAG; Japanese Americans for NTG). Knowing Asian-American patients' ancestral country of origin may permit more precise estimation of their risks for OAG, NAG, and NTG.


• From 1999 poll: 16.1% of African-Americans are unfamiliar with glaucoma. 8.8% of Caucasians do not know anything about glaucoma.


• Prescription eye drops could cut African Americans’ risk of getting glaucoma in half.

Source: Some of the information in this fact sheet was obtained from the National Eye Institute.

Last Review: 01/04/11