Characteristics and Systemic Risk Factors of Glaucoma in Adult Patients Attending a Private Eye Clinic in Aba, Nigeria

Aim: This study aim to evaluate the characteristics and systemic risk factors of glaucoma in adult patients attending a private eye clinic in Aba, Nigeria.

Methodology: This study is a hospital-based research which utilized a cross-sectional design to evaluate the characteristics and systemic risk factors of glaucoma in adult patients attending a private specialist eye clinic in Aba, Nigeria, which provides comprehensive eye care services to a diverse population of patients over a period of 36 months. Adult patients who presented during the study period made up the study population. The Cochran formula was used to calculate a sample size of 220 patients, with a 5% margin of error and a 95% confidence level.

Results: The age distribution of the participants showed that older people had a higher prevalence of glaucoma, with 71.4% of the patients being 50 years of age or older. Male patients made up more of the study's patients (54.5%). A family ocular history was reported by 16.4% of the subjects, with parents being the most frequently impacted family members (59.5%). Hypertension (23.2%) and diabetes mellitus (5.9%) of all systemic disorders were the most common. Out of the 220 participants, 43.2% of them with glaucoma reported having symptoms for less than a year, 13.6% between one and two years, and 43.2% for more than two years. The two most typical co-existing eye diseases were cataracts (47.8%) and refractive problems (9.9%). The most common recorded intraocular pressure (IOP) was between 11-29mmHg. The visual acuity of the patients varied, with 33.6% and 37.7% of them having vision better than 6/18 in their right and left eyes, respectively. Age and different glaucoma types were shown to be significantly correlated in the study (p=0.020). Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) constituted 88% while primary angle closure (PACG) constituted 12%. Of the primary open angle glaucoma, 3.4% and normal tension glaucoma (NTG).

Conclusion: Significant risk factors for glaucoma noted in this study were age, family history of glaucoma and co-morbid conditions like hypertension and diabetes.This study advance our knowledge of the clinical traits and risk factors for glaucoma, which could help with early detection, treatment, and prevention methods.