Identifying the critical factors that influence intraocular pressure using an automated regression tree

Copyright: © 2017. The Author(s). Licensee: AOSIS. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. Introduction Glaucoma is an optic neuropathy that sometimes results in irreversible blindness.1 After cataracts, glaucoma is the second most prevalent cause of global blindness,2 and it is estimated that almost 80 million people worldwide will be affected by this optic neuropathy by the year 2020.3 Because of the high prevalence of this ocular disease, the economic and social implications of glaucoma have been outlined in recent studies.4,5 In Africa, primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is more prevalent than primary-angle closure glaucoma, and over the next 4 years, the prevalence of POAG in Africa is projected to increase by 23% corresponding to an increase from 6.2 million to 8.0 million affected individuals.3 Consequently, in Africa, there have been recommendations to incorporate glaucoma screening procedures into routine eye examinations as well as implement glaucoma blindness control programs.6,7