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glaucoma; or (iii) African-Americans age 50 and over. Based
on our review of the current medical literature, we believe
that there are other beneficiaries who are at risk for
glaucoma and should be included in the definition of
eligible beneficiary for purposes of the glaucoma screening
benefit.
The Eye Diseases Prevalence Research Group recently
reviewed the literature on the prevalence of glaucoma in
adults in the United States (Arch Ophthalmol 2004;
122:532-538) and provided separate data for Hispanic
persons. They reported that Hispanic subjects had a marked
higher prevalence in the oldest age group. After
controlling for age and gender, rates of open angle glaucoma
in Hispanic persons did not differ significantly from that
among whites, except for those age 65 years and older. The
prevalence of open angle glaucoma in Hispanic persons age 65
years and older was significantly higher than among whites.
Overall, Hispanic subjects had a significantly lower
prevalence of open angle glaucoma than African-Americans.
One notable limitation of this review article is that the
data on Hispanic persons came from a single study of mostly
Mexican-born Hispanics from Arizona (Quigley HA et al. The
prevalence of glaucoma in a population based study of
Hispanic subjects: proyecto VER. Ann Ophthalmol 2001;
119:1819-1825). We believe the evidence is adequate to