“Glaucoma is six to nine times more common in African Americans than in other populations,” says Joel S. Schuman, MD, Eye and Ear Foundation Professor, chair of the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Ophthalmology and director of the UPMC Eye Center. “That difference is a huge problem in itself. Many cases go undetected. On top of that, there’s a disparity in access to health care that disproportionately affects African Americans. People who need health care the most often have a difficult time getting it.”
The most common kinds of glaucoma have no symptoms. The only way to detect it is to get an eye exam, which Dr. Schuman encourages people to get regularly. If people don’t have health insurance that covers eye and vision care, or don’t have insurance at all, UPMC Eye Center programs like the Guerilla Eye Service could be an option for care (read about the service elsewhere on the page).
Other diseases for which African Americans have a higher risk can also damage the eyes and cause vision problems. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that African Americans are twice as likely as White adults to be diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetes can lead to vision problems such as diabetic retinopathy, which is caused by damage to the blood vessels in the eye’s retina. Many people don’t know they have diabetes, though signs of the disease can be seen in the eye. Sickle cell disease and high blood pressure can also cause eye problems that can be seen in an eye exam. The earlier eye diseases are diagnosed, the better. Many eye diseases can be treated or reversed with medicated eye drops, laser treatment (often quick and painless) or surgery.
In addition to treating patients, Dr. Schuman is an expert in glaucoma treatment and runs several studies on how to better understand and treat eye disease. One such study involves imaging the eye using a technology that Dr. Schuman and others invented. The technology, optical coherence tomography (OCT), measures structures in the eye. OCT can diagnose different eye problems or be used to watch how they develop. “Right now, we treat everyone as if his or her disease is going to get worse quickly,” says Dr. Schuman. “If doctors could use a technology like OCT, we could treat people according to how their specific disease is developing. If we knew someone’s disease was slow-moving, we could treat it in a less aggressive way. We also are working to find out why African Americans have such a higher risk for glaucoma and other eye diseases.”
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