title: The prevalence of glaucoma in the Melbourne Visual Impairment Project.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of glaucoma in Melbourne, Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  All subjects were participants in the Melbourne Visual Impairment Project (Melbourne VIP), a population-based prevalence study of eye disease that included residential and nursing home populations. Each participant underwent a standardized eye examination, which included a Humphrey Visual Field test, applanation tonometry, fundus examination including fundal photographs, and a medical history interview. Glaucoma status was determined by a masked assessment and consensus adjudication of visual fields, optic disc photographs, intraocular pressure, and glaucoma history.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 3271 persons (83% response rate) participated in the residential Melbourne VIP. The overall prevalence rate of definite primary open-angle glaucoma in the residential population was 1.7% (95% confidence limits = 1.21, 2.21). Of these, 50% had not been diagnosed previously. Only two persons (0.1%) had primary angle-closure glaucoma and six persons (0.2%) had secondary glaucoma. The prevalence of glaucoma increased steadily with age from 0.1% at ages 40 to 49 years to 9.7% in persons aged 80 to 89 years. There was no relationship with gender. The authors examined 403 (90.2% response rate) nursing home residents. The age standardized rate for this component was 2.36% (95% confidence limits = 0, 4.88).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The rate of glaucoma in Melbourne rises significantly with age. With only half of patients being diagnosed, glaucoma is a major eye health problem and will become increasingly important as the population ages.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Wensor
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: McCarty
authors.forename: Y L
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Stanislavsky
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Livingston
authors.forename: H R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Taylor
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D005260:Female; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D014065:Tonometry, Ocular; D014739:Victoria / Q000453:epidemiology; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D014794:Visual Fields