Abstract: Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversibe blindness worldwide. Despite the numerous 
studies, the disease remains a challenge because of the unclear etiopathogenesis, many factors 
favoring the appearance of glaucoma, difficulties in the diagnosis and management which the 
ophthalmologists face.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the risk factors for the occurrence of blindness in 
primary open-angle glaucoma. Material and methods: The study enrolled 302 patients diagnosed 
with primary open-angle glaucoma treated in SBOBAL - Varna.
For the evaluation were used sociological and clinical methods. SPSS v. 20.0 was used for
variation, dispersion, correlation, and risk assessment analysis. Results and Discussion: In our 
study unilateral blindness was identified in 14.4% (42 patients), whereas bilateral – in 1.4% (4 
patients). There is a statistical significance in the results regarding therapy, IOP measurements 
and light sensitivity. We identified that the highest risk factor for glaucoma progression leading to 
blindness is age –patients over the age of 60 (1.758). It was difficult to detect changes in the 
visual field in patients with cataract. These results correspond to the those discussed from other 
authors in various studies.
Conclusions: Blindness in patients with POAG is due to late stage diagnosis and severe visual 
field damage resulting from inadequate therapy and follow-up.
Key words: risk factors, POAG, blindness, progression

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