More than 2.8 million Americans now have glaucoma, according to the 2014 Prevent Blindness “Future of Vision: Forecasting the Prevalence and Costs of Vision Problems” report. In the next 18 years, those numbers could jump 50 percent. They will leap again by the middle of the century by 92 percent (5.5 million cases). Related treatment costs also will spiral upwards. During the next 18 years, they will double to $12 billion annually, and by the middle of the century, they will leap another $5.3 billion. The study also noted that today 64 percent of glaucoma patients are white and 20 percent are black. By 2050, most will be non-white because of a rapid increase in Hispanic glaucoma patients. By 2050, blacks and Hispanics will each constitute about 20 percent of all glaucoma patients. By 2018, the largest age group of glaucoma patients will be 70-79. Fourteen years later: 80-89 year olds. Read more.
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