Abstract: Glaucoma is a series of ocular disorders characterized by the atrophy of the optic nerve and visual field defect. Glaucomatous changes occurs mainly in the eye and the visual pathway, nevertheless, as a part of the body, systemic factors such as family history, gender, age and ethnicity, or systemic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, thyroid disease, corticoid hormone use and some nerve system disorders, impact significantly on the occurrence and development of glaucoma. A full understanding of the systemic risk factors to glaucoma will benefit to the screening of subjects with high risk, the prevention and treatment of glaucoma, and the improvement of the prognosis of glaucoma.

Key words: glaucoma, risk factors, systemic