Why glaucoma strikes African-Americans at an earlier age and why the disease develops so much faster than the rest of the population is still not known. Glaucoma is six to eight times more common in African-Americans than in Caucasians. 4 Most African-Americans do not know they are at risk for glaucoma. If you are over the age of 40 African-Americans belonging to one of the risk groups listed above are at even greater risk to develop glaucoma. Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that gradually steals sight without warning and often without symptoms.
Vision loss is caused by damage to the optic nerve.
This nerve acts like an electric cable containing over a million wires and is responsible for carrying the images we see to the brain. Glaucoma is a chronic disease. It must be treated for life. Researchers and doctors are still not sure why people get glaucoma. They do know that glaucoma is not caused by too much reading, reading in low light, having a bad diet, wearing contact lenses, or other daily activities.