The incidence of primary angle-closure glaucoma in Olmsted County, Minnesota.

Abstract

To determine the incidence of primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) and to assess the visual outcomes of patients treated for PACG. Population-based retrospective incidence study. Residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota, aged 40 years and older and diagnosed with PACG in the 13-year period between January 1, 1980, and December 31, 1992. Incident cases of PACG identified through the Medical Diagnostic Index of Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn, and the Rochester Epidemiology Project. Thirty-six incident cases were identified. The mean annual age-and sex-adjusted incidence per 100000 people aged 40 years and older was 8.3 (95% confidence interval, 5.6-11.0). The probability of monocular blindness associated with PACG at the time of diagnosis was 14%. Among patients not monocularly blind at diagnosis, the 5-year probability of developing monocular blindness associated with PACG was 4%. Primary angle-closure glaucoma is an uncommon disease in our community. Most of the patients blinded by PACG were blind at the time the condition was diagnosed.