UAE kids are at higher risk of congenital glaucoma
abu dhabi — Congenital glaucoma affects one in every 1,000 children in the UAE. Although rare, this number is 10 times higher than many other developed nations, including the US, Khaleej Times has learned.
Glaucoma is an eye disease that is caused by elevated pressure which damages the eye nerves leading to the loss of vision and even blindness.
In the US, only one child in every 10,000 has the affliction, say medical experts. Dr Scott Smith, chief of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Eye Institute, said many parents are now turning to genetic disease examinations before they conceive.
Saudi Arabia, which has a larger population than the UAE, also has a similar epidemiology of the disease. “Around one in every 1,000 children are born with congenital glaucoma in the UAE, which is not common; but when it happens, it needs to be treated right away.”
Children born with glaucoma may suffer from various conditions, including a cloudy cornea. In 2017 alone, the clinic received more than 8,000 cases, both in children and in adults, Dr Smith pointed out.
Globally, glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness, with over 60 million people suffering from the disease and 4.5 million people worldwide going blind because of it, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Dr Smith pointed out that the most common kind of glaucoma is age-related. “In the UAE, if you take the population over the age of 50, there will be around five per cent of people who have glaucoma, in one form or another.” He noted that there are many different categories of glaucoma, defined by the underlying cause in each particular case.
Open-angle glaucoma and angle-closure glaucoma make up around 80 per cent of all cases.
Around one in every 1,000 children are born with congenital glaucoma in the UAE, which is not common; but when it happens, it needs to be treated right away.” Dr Scott Smith, chief, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Eye Institute
Open-angle glaucoma is caused when the natural fluid inside the eye does not drain well, increasing pressure within the eye, leading to damage to the optic nerve, the main connection that sends signals controlling vision to the brain.
Angle-closure glaucoma, on the other hand, causes the normal drainage to suddenly close. “Openangle glaucoma has no symptoms at all until the vision becomes cloudy, by which time it’s very late in this course of the disease.”
However, angle-closure glaucoma does have warning signs, which include sudden redness, eye pain, seeing halos around lights, headaches and dilated pupils.“Glaucoma is usually symptom-free, until it causes irreparable damage to a person’s vision or even blindness.”
Dr Smith urged people over 40 to have yearly checkups. He also recommends anyone who has a family history of the disease to have regular examinations. “A lot of people don’t know about it until the damage is already done.”
He warned that over a period of 10 years, one per cent of the total glaucoma population can turn blind. Around 10 per cent of people with glaucoma will become blind during life, but that is largely people who were diagnosed late or who did not follow the treatment plan.
“The risk becomes higher with age. If cases have been ignored for 20 years, maybe half the people would lose their vision; if ignored for 30 years, almost everyone will become blind.”
jasmine@khaleejtimes.com