Glaucoma rate among Malays, Chinese among highest in the world
By Azlan Asri, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 06 March 2008 2048 hrs

	Photos  of

SINGAPORE : The prevalence of glaucoma among Malays and Chinese here is among the highest in the world.

A survey found that it affects 3.2 percent of Chinese and 3.4 percent of Malay Singaporeans, aged 40 and above.

Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Information, Communications and the Arts, Dr Balaji Sadasivan, said almost 70 million cases of glaucoma occur globally in a year.

Speaking at the first World Glaucoma Day in Singapore on Thursday, he said as Singapore's population ages, the incidence of glaucoma is expected to rise, which in turn would lead to increased health costs for many Singaporeans.

But more importantly, many Singaporeans do not realise they suffer from glaucoma until it is too late. 90 percent of glaucoma patients here end up blind.

Dr Balaji said, "A lot of people accept the blindness as part of their aging process. So there is a need for a major education campaign to explain to older people that going blind is not part of old age, what the early symptoms are and to encourage them to go for eye checks every one or two years.

"Growing old is already difficult enough, but if you become blind when you are old, then it's tough on the person and on the family." - CNA/ms