title: Hypertension, perfusion pressure, and primary open-angle glaucoma. A population-based assessment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the association of vascular factors with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG).
  
  
  METHODS
  A population-based prevalence survey of ocular disease among black and white residents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Communities of east Baltimore, Md.
  
  
  METHODS
  A stratified cluster sample of 5308 residents 40 years of age or older.
  
  
  METHODS
  Primary open-angle glaucoma as defined by demonstrable glaucomatous optic nerve damage based on visual fields and/or optic disc findings. Intraocular pressure level was not a criterion for diagnosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Systolic and diastolic blood pressure showed modest, positive association with POAG. The effect of blood pressure on POAG was modified by age, with a stronger association among older subjects. Lower perfusion pressure (blood pressure-intraocular pressure) was strongly associated with an increased prevalence of POAG, with a sixfold excess for those in the lowest category of perfusion pressure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that POAG is associated with an alteration in factors related to ocular blood flow and a breakdown of autoregulation.
authors.affiliation: Dana Center for Preventive Ophthalmology, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Tielsch
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Katz
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sommer
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Quigley
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Javitt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044383:Black People; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005902:Glaucoma, Open-Angle / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007429:Intraocular Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011157:Population Dynamics; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D044465:White People