Prevalence of Glaucoma among High Myopia

Abstract

Glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, can adversely impact quality of life for patients with visual field defects even if they are unaware of their diagnosis. In many populations, POAG is the most common form of the disease. The underlying pathogenesis of glaucoma is not completely understood and is likely influenced by both genetic and environmental factors, so the identification of other risk factors may allow for earlier and more aggressive screening targeted toward susceptible populations as well as shed light on the pathophysiology of this disease. Myopia has become increasingly prevalent worldwide over the past century. The association between myopia and POAG has been recognized for decades and has been documented in many case series and case-control studies. The underlying hypothesis explaining this association is that individuals with axial myopia have weaker scleral support at the optic nerve, and this contributes to a greater susceptibility of the optic nerve to glaucomatous damage.