Pseudoexfoliation in the Reykjavik eye study: Prevalence and related ophthalmological variables

Document Type

Article

Department

Ophthalmology

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the age and sex-specific prevalence of pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PEX) and its relationship with some ophthalmological variables.
Methods: We carried out a population-based study using a random sample taken from the national population census for citizens of Reykjavik, aged > or = 50 years. A total of 1045 individuals participated in all parts of the study. Pseudoexfoliation was established by slit-lamp examination with a maximally dilated pupil carried out by two experienced ophthalmologists, who were masked to one another's results except in cases of disagreement where they had to reach a consensus.
Results: In all, 108 (10.7%) persons were found to have PEX in at least one eye. Prevalence increased from 2.5% in those aged 50-59 years to 40.6% in those aged > or = 80 years. Women were more frequently affected than men (12.3% versus 8.7%). This difference remained statistically significant after controlling for the effect of age (p < 0.001). Eyes with PEX were found to have higher intraocular pressure (IOP) than eyes without PEX (p < 0.05). However, PEX was not found to be related to central corneal thickness, anterior chamber depth, lens thickness, nuclear lens opacifications or optic disc morphology in a multivariate model.
Conclusions: Pseudoexfoliation is an age-related phenomenon commonly found in Iceland. It is more commonly found in women than in men and is associated with elevated IOP.

Comments

This work was published before the author joined Aga Khan University.

Publication (Name of Journal)

Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica

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