Research has revealed the dearth of real-world evidence evaluating healthcare resource utilization and cost of glaucoma by disease severity in the United States. Using the more detailed ICD-10-CM disease coding system that came out in 2015, a recent study provided an updated account of the clinical and economic burden of glaucoma.

This retrospective analysis evaluated a large cohort of 177,352 US patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG) and ocular hypertension (OHT) over a one-year period (67.8% OAG). The updated estimates show highest eye-related costs for those with severe disease and disease progression. Severe OAG was associated with an increased risk of falls and fractures.

OAG patients had higher eye-related outpatient costs than OHT patients (median: $516 vs. $344, respectively). Patients with severe OAG had higher eye-related outpatient costs than moderate and mild OAG patients (median: $639 vs. $546 vs. $476, respectively). Severe OAG patients also had higher glaucoma-related pharmacy costs than both subsets of OAG patients (median: $493 vs. $244 vs. $139, respectively). In adjusted analyses, disease worsening was associated with at least two-fold higher annual eye-related outpatient costs.

“Compared with patients with OHT, severe OAG was associated with an increased risk of sequelae such as falls/factures, adding to the existing burden of disease management,” the researchers concluded. “Hence, therapies that delay the disease progression may provide clinical and economic benefits.”