13 out of 100 people aged over 35 in Bangladesh suffer from glaucoma: Survey
Glaucoma is the leading cause of permanent blindness. Patients do not understand the problem because there are no symptoms of this disease
At least 13 out of 100 people aged over 35 in Bangladesh suffer from glaucoma, an eye disease that causes permanent blindness, according to a survey conducted in 2022 by the Bangladesh Glaucoma Society, an organization of ophthalmologists.
Of these, 3 people are severely affected by glaucoma and 10 have been identified as suspected patients. At present, the total number of glaucoma patients in the country is 20 lakh and the number of suspected patients is 50 lakh.
The survey results were released at an event titled "Bangladesh Glaucoma Disease Outbreak and Social Impact" held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in the capital on Tuesday (7 May).
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The survey report was presented by Bangladesh Glaucoma Society Advisor Professor Dr Sheikh MA Mannaf.
The survey data involved 12,000 people, of whom 5,953 were men and 6,047 were women. Of these, 3,790 were from urban areas and 9,210 were from rural areas. A total of 386 people were found to have glaucoma in the survey, which is about 3.2%.
The chief guest at the event was Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Samanta Lal Sen. Special guests were Bangladesh Medical Research Council Chairman Professor Dr Syed Modasser Ali, Asia Pacific Ophthalmology President Professor Dr Abha Hossain, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Md Deen Nurul Hauqe, Glaucoma Society President Professor Dr Zakia Sultana Shahid and Secretary General Professor Dr. Siddiqur Rahman.
Glaucoma is the leading cause of permanent blindness. Patients do not understand the problem because there are no symptoms of this disease. Glaucoma patients have high eye pressure. This pressure gradually erodes the optic nerve of the eye. At first, peripheral vision starts to decrease. If blindness occurs due to this disease, then vision cannot be regained.
The number of glaucoma patients in the country has increased by about 20% in the last 20 years. At present the number of glaucoma patients in the country is 19,46,730. Of these, the number of male patients is 12,33,390 and the number of women is 7,13,340.
Women are more affected by this disease than men. The rate of glaucoma patients in Dhaka is much higher than in other divisions, the survey found.
