Primary-open glaucoma and myopia: a narrative review.

Refractive errors and primary open-angle glaucoma are common eye conditions in the United States. The identification and quantification of risk factors for primary open-angle glaucoma is critical to understanding and managing the disease process from both individual and public health perspectives. This narrative review was conducted to present the epidemiology of primary open-angle glaucoma and to summarize epidemiologic findings on myopia as a risk factor. Epidemiologic evidence suggests an increasing prevalence of primary open-angle glaucoma over the last decade in the United States. It has been documented that primary open-angle glaucoma prevalence increases with age, and that African Americans tend to have the highest estimates. Epidemiologic data, however, are not as clear with respect to gender differences. Other factors that have been identified are increased intraocular pressure and the use of steroids. The evidence for increased risk of primary open-angle glaucoma among myopies is stronger for moderate and severe myopia and not as clear for mild myopia. The association between primary open-angle glaucoma and its multiple risk factors is complex.