Abstract
Purpose: To describe the prevalence and incidence of glaucoma in Denmark in the period from 1996 to 2015 with a methodological focus on the use of different register‐based definitions of glaucoma. Furthermore, we investigate the prevalence within immigrant groups living in Denmark.
Methods: All Danish citizens were included, covering around 5.4 million individuals. We define glaucoma in three ways based on the type of prescription pattern. Furthermore, we compared the results with alternative indications for glaucoma, namely in‐hospital ICD‐10‐diagnosed glaucoma and in‐hospital operation for glaucoma. Finally, we estimated the prevalence and incidence of glaucoma based on an individual having three claimed prescriptions, being diagnosed in hospital or having undergone glaucoma operation.
Results: We estimated the total prevalence in 2015 to be around 1.6% but potentially in the range 1.4–1.9% depending on the definition. The prevalence increased during the investigated period, whereas the age‐specific incidence rate seemed to be constant and even decreasing in ages over 80 years. Africans and Asians living in Denmark have significantly higher risk of glaucoma compared to Danish non‐immigrants and with similar frequencies when compared with the world‐wide data from their home world regions. Furthermore, Asians tend to get glaucoma at a significantly lower age, on average, compared to Danish non‐immigrants, whereas Africans have a similar age‐pattern. Finally, we find a high sensitivity of 80% using glaucoma medication prescription as a marker for the amount of primary open‐angle glaucoma (POAG) whereas it has a lover sensitivity for primary angle closure glaucoma.
Conclusions: This study is the first to verify anti‐glaucomatous medicine prescriptions as a useful tool for glaucoma frequency estimations, with a particularly high sensitivity for POAG.
Methods: All Danish citizens were included, covering around 5.4 million individuals. We define glaucoma in three ways based on the type of prescription pattern. Furthermore, we compared the results with alternative indications for glaucoma, namely in‐hospital ICD‐10‐diagnosed glaucoma and in‐hospital operation for glaucoma. Finally, we estimated the prevalence and incidence of glaucoma based on an individual having three claimed prescriptions, being diagnosed in hospital or having undergone glaucoma operation.
Results: We estimated the total prevalence in 2015 to be around 1.6% but potentially in the range 1.4–1.9% depending on the definition. The prevalence increased during the investigated period, whereas the age‐specific incidence rate seemed to be constant and even decreasing in ages over 80 years. Africans and Asians living in Denmark have significantly higher risk of glaucoma compared to Danish non‐immigrants and with similar frequencies when compared with the world‐wide data from their home world regions. Furthermore, Asians tend to get glaucoma at a significantly lower age, on average, compared to Danish non‐immigrants, whereas Africans have a similar age‐pattern. Finally, we find a high sensitivity of 80% using glaucoma medication prescription as a marker for the amount of primary open‐angle glaucoma (POAG) whereas it has a lover sensitivity for primary angle closure glaucoma.
Conclusions: This study is the first to verify anti‐glaucomatous medicine prescriptions as a useful tool for glaucoma frequency estimations, with a particularly high sensitivity for POAG.
| Original language | English |
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| Journal | Acta Ophthalmologica |
| Volume | 96 |
| Issue number | S261 |
| Pages (from-to) | 53 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| ISSN | 1755-375X |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2018 |
| Event | European Association for Vision and Eye Research Conference 2018 - Nice, France Duration: 4 Oct 2018 → 6 Oct 2018 |
Conference
| Conference | European Association for Vision and Eye Research Conference 2018 |
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| Country/Territory | France |
| City | Nice |
| Period | 04/10/2018 → 06/10/2018 |