Glaucoma prevalence and its impact on physical and mental health among elderly residents in Hebei province

Objective To investigate the prevalence of glaucoma and its influences on health status among urban and rural elderly residents.Methods Multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method was used to recruit 6 173 old residents aged 60 years and above from urban and rural areas in three municipalities of Hebei province for a face-to-face interview.The Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short From Health Survey(SF-36),Social Support Rating Scale(SSRS),Family Function Assessment Scale(FAD),and Activity of Daily Living Scale(ADL) were used in the survey.Results The glaucoma prevalence in the elderly was 4.5%.The elderly with glaucoma had a significantly lower SF-36 score than the elderly without the disease(500.7±151.0 vs.544.1±157.2)(P<0.05);the elderly with glaucoma also had significantly lower scores for social function(64.4±22.3),emotional function(62.2±42.0),physiological function(47.2±43.5),body pain(64.2±23.3),life activity(61.7±18.5),and overall health(53.2±16.7) compared to those without the disease(all P<0.05),whereas no significant differences in scores for physiological function and mental health were observed between the elderly with and without glaucoma.Gender,education level,marital status,daily life ability,sleep disorder,social support,family function,self health management,pension mode,whether having long-term medication and or other chronic diseases were related to the health status of elderly glaucoma patients.Multivariate analyses showed that daily life ability,total symptom index,social support,family function,and whether having long-term medication were influence factors for physical and mental health among the elderly with glaucoma.Conclusion The health status of the elderly with glaucoma is very poor and specific attentions should be paid to control relevant influence factors to improve health status of the elderly.