Socioeconomic status and open-angle glaucoma

Abstract

Evaluation of: Ramdas WD, Wolfs RC, Hofman A, de Jong PT, Vingerling JR, Jansonius NM. Lifestyle and risk of developing open-angle glaucoma: the Rotterdam Study. Arch. Ophthalmol. DOI: 10.1001/archophthalmol.2010.373 (2011) (Epub ahead of print).

According to the Rotterdam Study, which was conducted in The Netherlands, socioeconomic status, alcohol consumption and smoking were not related to the onset of open-angle glaucoma. Because participants were from a homogeneous suburb and The Netherlands ranks number one in terms of equity in healthcare for all individuals regardless of income, the lack of an association between socioeconomic status and open-angle glaucoma is not surprising.

Keywords::

• access to care
• glaucoma
• socioeconomic status

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.