Clinical features of the progression of primary open-angle glaucoma in patients with a burdened family history

PURPOSE. To identify clinical and epidemiological features of the course of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) in patients with a verified family history of the disease.METHODS. The study protocol included data from 103 people (103 eyes), among them 37 (35.9%) men and 66 (64.1%) women. Group 1 (44 people, 44 eyes) included patients with sporadic glaucoma. Group 2 consisted of patients with a hereditary form of the disease (41 people, 41 eyes). Healthy individuals (18 people, 18 eyes) comprised the control group. Mean age of all patients at the time of final examination was 60.6 (56.0; 66.3) years. In all cases, the diagnosis was established in accordance with the system of differential diagnosis of diseases. Examination was always carried out in person and included routine and specialized study methods (static automated perimetry, optical coherence tomography, examination of the thickness of the cornea in the central optical zone).RESULTS. The mean age of patients with a family history at the time of POAG diagnosis was 59.8 (53.9; 63.1) years, in patients with sporadic glaucoma — 63.85 (58.5; 67.9) years. Therefore, POAG in the group with a family history was diagnosed 4.05 years earlier. No significant differences in the structural and functional characteristics of the visual analyzer were established. A greater number of patients with the sporadic form of the disease undergo glaucoma surgery (47.7% and 34.1%, respectively) in comparable disease duration.CONCLUSION. In people with a family history of glaucoma, preventive screening should be carried out at an earlier age than the average in the population.