Purpose: To compare the prevalence of glaucoma in adults with Down's syndrome (DS) to that in non-DS control adults.
Methods: Twenty-six patients (14 men and 12 women) with DS and 188 control subjects (105 men and 83 women) were studied. The mean age was 35.1 +/- 6.9 (+/- SD) years in the DS group and 36.9 +/- 5.2 years in the control group. There were no significant differences in age or sex distribution between the two groups. Glaucoma was diagnosed by two glaucoma specialists based on the optic disc findings obtained through dilated pupils.
Results: The prevalence of patients with glaucoma in the DS group was 11.5%, significantly higher (P = 0.014) than that in the control group, 1.1%. There was no significant difference in intraocular pressure between glaucomatous eyes (12.2 +/- 3.2 mmHg) and nonglaucomatous eyes (11.1 +/- 4.1 mmHg) in the DS group (P = 0.465).
Conclusions: The prevalence of glaucoma in adult patients with DS was significantly higher than that in age-matched control subjects.