Purpose: To evaluate the association of socioeconomic status (SES) with severity of glaucoma and assess the impacts of both SES and disease-severity factors on the costs of glaucoma medications among different glaucoma subtypes in West Bengal, India. Methods: This cross-sectional study (2014–16) followed the treatment of 304 primary glaucoma patients for at least 18 months. The visual field based glaucoma staging was followed for stages 0–3; patients with field of vision <10º were categorized as stage 4 (end stage).
We checked only the mean cost of glaucoma medications per patient and not ‘‘direct costs.’’ The individuals’ monthly incomes were classified into: low, moderate, and higher SES. Results: Urban residence (odds ratio [OR] 0.6, P < 0.009), higher SES (OR 0.3, P < 0.001), and higher awareness (nearly 50%, P < 0.007) significantly lowered the odds of having end-stage glaucoma.…
