Glaucoma care optimised in an ageing population

With an estimated number of 64.3 million people having the disease worldwide, glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness. Glaucoma is a disease of the optic nerve, in which nerve fibers loss leads to visual field loss. The most important risk factor for having the disease is a high intraocular pressure. Age is another well established risk factor and with a growing elderly population worldwide, it is estimated that the number of people with glaucoma will to 112 million in 2040. Thus, the need for glaucoma care will increase. In the thesis 'Glaucoma care optimised in an ageing population', opportunities to optimise glaucoma care are investigated. A novel algorithm is described to easily analyze a series of visual field examinations for glaucoma progression. Risk factors for glaucoma progression (higher age, higher intraocular pressure and more advanced disease stage) are described. Visual field testing can be challenging for patients and ways to improve testing strategies and alternatives to visual field testing are investigated. Furthermore, it is described if elderly glaucoma patients can be monitored or treated less intensively than their younger peers. Since glaucoma is a slowly progressive disease, this is true for patients aged over 80 years with early glaucoma.