What is 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.
Glaucoma