CHICAGO—Today, nearly 3 million people ages 40 and older have glaucoma, according to the Prevent Blindness “Future of Vision: Forecasting the Prevalence and Costs of Vision Problems” report. As the population ages, the number is projected to grow steadily, increasing nearly 50 percent to 4.3 million by 2032 and by more than 90 percent to 5.5 million by 2050.

January has been designated as National Glaucoma Awareness Month by Prevent Blindness and other leading eye health organizations, in an effort to help educate the public on the disease, including risk factors, treatment options and other resources. To support the initiative, the Glaucoma Research Foundation, and the National Eye Institute are providing free resources such as fact sheets, risk factor identifiers, information on the disease and suggestions for raising awareness on their websites and social media profiles online.

In addition, Prevent Blindness offers the online “Glaucoma Learning Center,” providing patients and their caregivers additional free information.

The study also found that although more than 60 percent of glaucoma patients today are white; by 2050, most glaucoma patients will be non-white, due primarily to the rapid increase in Hispanic glaucoma patients. By 2050, blacks and Hispanics will each constitute about 20 percent of all glaucoma patients.

Glaucoma is often referred to as the “sneak thief of sight” because most people notice no early symptoms or pain. However, vision loss may be decreased if detected and treated early, which is why it is imperative for adults to get a complete, dilated eye exam from an eyecare professional for the best chance of saving their sight.

There are many risk factors for glaucoma including age, race, diabetes, family history and medical history, according to Prevent Blindness.

Prevent Blindness offers free fact sheets to help answer common questions about health insurance, Medicare coverage for glaucoma, the Affordable Care Act and eyecare at www.preventblindness.org/health-insurance-and-your-eyes.

For more information on glaucoma, call Prevent Blindness at (800) 331-2020 or visit www.preventblindness.org/glaucoma-learning-center.