Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of 116,592 glaucoma patients in the Danish population in the period from 1996 to 2011.
The total Danish population, incidence and prevalence are calculated for each year.
Fig 1.
Prevalence, Incidence and age distribution of glaucoma patients in Denmark.
A. Prevalence of glaucoma cases in Denmark in the period from 1996 to 2011. The percentage of female glaucoma patients above 50 years is shown in age intervals of 10 years. A significant increase in the prevalence throughout the period was found (p < 0.001). No significant difference is seen among females and males (p = 0.8). B. Incidence of glaucoma cases in Denmark in the period from 1996 to 2011. The percentage of female glaucoma patients above 50 years is shown in age intervals of 10 years. No significant difference is seen among females and males (p = 0.1). No significant change was observed in the incidence in the studied period. C. The age distribution in Denmark from 1996 and 2011. In 1996 the total population was 5.3 million and in 2011 5.6 million, respectively. Numbers are drawn from the Danish National Patient Registry. D. The age specific incidence rates of glaucoma in Denmark in the period from 1996 to 2011. Out of a total of 116,594 cases, the incident rates reveal a bell shaped distribution with a peak at the age of 80 years by 600 cases per 100,000 person-years.
Table 2.
Demographic prevalence of patients treated with glaucoma medication in 2011.
Prevalence rates in 10 years age groups and the gender distribution are presented.
Fig 2.
The demographic variation of glaucoma patients in Denmark.
The map illustrates the differences in the prevalence of glaucoma cases in the age group from 50 to 60 years. The highest prevalence of glaucoma is found in the capital region of Denmark with a prevalence of 6.28%, which was significantly higher compared to the other regions (Table 3). 1) The Capital Region of Denmark, 2) Region of Zealand, 3) Region of Southern Denmark, 4) Region of Central Jutland, 5) The North Denmark Region.
Table 3.
The demographic variation of glaucoma in Denmark.
The incidence and prevalence for 2011 is calculated.
Fig 3.
Total distribution of “first of choice” glaucoma medication in Denmark in the period from 1996 to 2011.
The distribution of “first of choice” medication is shown throughout the study period. The use of β-blockers has decreased (p < 0.001), whereas the use of prostaglandin analogs and combination drugs has increased in the studied period (p < 0.001). The lower figure shows the time line of the introduction of glaucoma medication (modified from European Guidelines, 4th edition). Abreviations: β-block., β-blockers; Prostagl., prostaglandin analogs; α-adren., α2-adrenergic agonists; Paras., parasympathomimetic drugs; CAI, carbon anhydrase inhibitors; Comb., combination drugs.
Table 4.
Baseline characteristics of glaucoma medication in the Danish population in the period from 1996 to 2011.