ging Face
Eye Care
b y K e l l y Wa t e r h o u s e
T
he Canadian cultural
landscape is evolving
into
the
diverse
mosaic
it
is
intended to be and for eyecare
professionals (ECPs) that means it is
important to educate patients on the
genetic implications of certain eye
health concerns, some of which are
more prevalent to ethnicity-specific
groups.
Keith Gordon, Vice President of
Research for the Canadian National
Institute for the Blind (CNIB),
says it is important for patients to
understand their genetic heredity in
eye health, including how it relates to
their ethnic ancestry.
“Many eye diseases have genetic
origins and if your parents or siblings
have the disease, you will be at a higher
risk of acquiring the disease yourself.
In particular, glaucoma and age-
related macular degeneration (AMD)
have been shown to be genetically
linked while genetic factors have also
been shown to be involved in diabetic
retinopathy,” Gordon said.
He adds, “In addition to
your family history, your ethnic
background will also affect your risk
of developing many eye diseases.
People of East Asian origin (Chinese/
Japanese) are at a higher risk of
developing a form of glaucoma called
narrow angle glaucoma as are people
of Inuit heritage, while First Nations
people and people from South Asia
(India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) have a
higher risk of developing diabetic
retinopathy.”
In the case of glaucoma, Gordon
explains that it is the anatomy of the
eye that predisposes the nature of the
glaucoma, should the disease occur.
For East Asian people, this puts them
at a greater risk of narrow angle
glaucoma, also known as closedangle glaucoma, than the general
population.
“If the eye tends to be more
narrow then the angle between the
iris and drainage is more narrow,
simply because they have narrower
eyes,” Gordon said. “People of East
Asian descent have narrower eyes.
It’s strictly a matter of their anatomyethnicity.”
According to research through
the CNIB, people of African descent
have up to eight times the risk of
experiencing open-angle glaucoma,
also known as wide-angle glaucoma,
than the general population. People
of Hispanic ethnicity are also at a
greater risk. Caucasians are also at
risk for this form of glaucoma, but are
more likely to develop AMD than any
other ethnic groups.
OPTICAL PRISM | DIGITAL SUPPLEMENT | FEBRUARY 2014
13