Abstract
Background Epidemiological studies describe the distribution of glaucoma and its
risk factors in the general population.
Material and Methods Epidemiological findings from population-based studies were
extrapolated for the situation in Germany, in order to estimate current and future
prevalence of glaucoma by using official population statistics for Germany.
Results The prevalence of glaucoma in the adult population above 40 years of age
is currently 2.1%, resulting in 980 thousand subjects with glaucoma, plus at least one
more million subjects with ocular hypertension (OHT). Two thirds of all glaucoma cases are
above 70 years of age. By 2060, the prevalence of glaucoma will increase to 2.8%, due to
the aging of the population.
Conclusions Despite a decrease in the population size, glaucoma will become more
prevalent in the future.
Keywords
glaucoma - epidemiology - prevalence - incidence - Germany
