Glaucoma
Causes and Risk Factors
Nearly 2.2 million people have glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness in the United States. Although anyone can get glaucoma, some people are at higher risk. They include
- African-Americans over age 40
- everyone over age 60, especially Mexican-Americans
- people with a family history of glaucoma.
Studies show that glaucoma is
- five times more likely to occur in African-Americans than in whites
- about four times more likely to cause blindness in African-Americans than in whites
- fifteen times more likely to cause blindness in African Americans between the ages of 45-64 than in whites of the same age group.
