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March 16th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda FRIDAY, March 16 (HealthDay News) — Middle-aged black people may
benefit from a routine national glaucoma screening program, according to
new research.
A computer-based mathematical model found routine screening could make
a modest reduction in the number of people who go blind or become visually
impaired from the eye disease.
Glaucoma is a chronic, degenerative disease that affects more than 2.2
million Americans and nearly 2 percent of Americans older than age 40,
according to the study authors. There are several types, the most common
of which is open-angle chronic glaucoma, which occurs when pressure builds
in the eye and puts pressure on the optic nerve.
Yet, many cases go undiagnosed. “The high prevalence of undiagnosed
glaucoma contributes to visual loss, an outcome that is disproportionately
common in African American individuals,” the authors wrote.
Using data from the Eye Diseases Prevalence Research Group and
Baltimore Eye Study, researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
and Harvard Medical School simulated what the effects would be of a
national glaucoma screening policy for black people.
The researchers found that a universal, community-based glaucoma
screening program for black people aged 50 to 59 without glaucoma would
reduce the prevalence of undiagnosed glaucoma over their lifetime from 50
percent to 27 percent. The analysis also found the program would reduce
glaucoma-related visual impairment from 4.6 percent to 4.4 percent, and
glaucoma-related blindness from 6.1 percent to 5.6 percent.
The study was published in the March issue of the Archives of
Ophthalmology.
For every 58 people screened, one person would be diagnosed with
glaucoma, according to the study, while 875 people would need to be
screened to prevent one person from becoming visually impaired.
Researchers estimated costs at about $80 for each person screened and
examined to confirm a diagnosis. They did not, however, factor in the cost
of visual rehabilitation, disability or long-term care in patients with
blindness.
“We conclude that routine screening for glaucoma in African American
individuals is a potentially clinically effective and economical method to
reduce the burden of glaucoma-related visual impairment and blindness,
though its absolute benefit is likely to be modest,” the authors wrote.
“Future studies should also consider long-term costs associated with
treatment and the impact of delaying visual impairment on health-related
quality of life.”
More information
The U.S. National Institutes of Health provides more information on glaucoma.
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