socioeconomic factors and disease severity at glaucoma presentation

purpose : to investigate the impact of socioeconomic factors on presenting severity of glaucoma methods : in a cross-sectional study at farabi eye hospital, and during 12 months study period, 258 patients with newly diagnosed glaucoma were enrolled and socioeconomic status of the patients were evaluated. results : lower socioeconomic score was associated with higher intraocular pressure (r=-0.307, p<0.0001), poorer best corrected visual acuity (bcva) (r=-0.280, p≤0.0001), and higher cup/disc ratio (r=-0.351, p≤0.0001). expressed income was also negatively correlated with cup/disc ratio (r=-0.258, p<0.0001). conclusion : advanced glaucoma at presentation is directly related to the low socioeconomic status of patients.   iranian journal of ophthalmology 201123(2):19-26 © 2011 by the iranian society of ophthalmology