There are four main types of glaucoma: primary open angle glaucoma, primary angle closure glaucoma, secondary glaucoma, developmentAL glaucoma (congenital glaucoma).
1. Primary open angle glaucoma – This is the most common type of glaucoma and develops very slowly
2. Angle closure glaucoma – This is rare and can occur slowly or may develop rapidly with a sudden, painful build-up of pressure in the eye
3. Secondary glaucoma -This occurs as a result of an eye injury or another eye condition, such as uveitis (inflammation of the middle layer of the eye)
4. Developmental glaucoma (congenital glaucoma) -This is rare but can be serious. It is usually present at birth or develops shortly after birth. It is caused by an abnormality of the eye.
In India, on the basis of the available data, we estimate that there are approximately 11.2 million persons aged 40 years and older with glaucoma in India.
Primary open angle glaucoma is estimated to affect 6.48 million persons.
The estimated number with primary angle-closure glaucoma is 2.54 million.
Those with any form of primary angle-closure disease could comprise 27.6 million persons.