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Editorial
May 24/31, 2022

Screening for Glaucoma

Author Affiliations
  • 1Wilmer Eye Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
  • 2Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • 3Edward S. Harkness Eye Institute, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York
JAMA. 2022;327(20):1961-1962. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.6400

Glaucoma is the most common cause of irreversible blindness globally, with an estimated 64 million persons with the disease in 2013 and a projected number of 111 million by 2040.1 Glaucoma is asymptomatic until late in the disease, with population-based studies estimating that up to 72% of individuals with glaucoma remain undiagnosed.2 Increased intraocular pressure (IOP) is a risk factor for the development of glaucoma but does not define the disease. Glaucoma is categorized as open-angle glaucoma, which affects an estimated 44 million persons globally and accounts for an estimated 69% of glaucoma cases, or as closed-angle glaucoma, which accounts for 31% of cases and affects an estimated 20 million persons.1

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