Prescribing trends of glaucoma medication in Korea from 2007 to 2020: A nationwide population-based study.

Abstract

PurposeInvestigating long-term trends in glaucoma medication.MethodsAll patients diagnosed with glaucoma and prescribed glaucoma eye drops between 2007 and 2020 in Korea's Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service database participated in this study. A weight was assigned to each prescription using the reciprocal of the total number of prescriptions received by the individual in that year. The number of patients who received each type of glaucoma eye drop prescription was calculated by summing the weights for each year.ResultsDuring the study period, prostaglandin analog eye drop monotherapy was the most frequently given type of glaucoma eye drop prescription. Until 2008, the second most frequently given type of glaucoma eye drop prescription was beta blocker eye drop monotherapy; thereafter, it changed to carbonic anhydrase inhibitor/beta blocker fixed-combination eye drop monotherapy. The prescription proportion of single-ingredient glaucoma eye drops decreased (-1.290%/year, P ConclusionOver 14 years, there was no change in the number of glaucoma eye drops prescribed to individual patients in Korea. However, the number of active ingredients prescribed increased owing to the increased prescription of fixed-combination eye drops. The current trends in glaucoma medication are expected to help establish future treatment strategies.