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Glaucoma largely undiagnosed in aphakia, study in rural India finds
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Glaucoma is an “important cause” of ocular morbidity among people with aphakia and pseudophakia in rural India, according to a population-based study. In addition, almost a quarter of those with glaucoma were undiagnosed.
H. Arvind and colleagues at the Vision Research Foundation in Chennai, India, administered complete ophthalmic examination to 3,924 subjects at least 40 years old to determine the rates of glaucoma.
Of the 482 people identified as either aphakic or pseudophakic, 37 people with aphakia had glaucoma and 17 people with pseudophakia had glaucoma (11.2%). After univariate analysis, aphakia, age, IOP, pseudoexfoliation and peripheral anterior synechiae at least 180· or more of the angle were identified as the leading risk factors for glaucoma development. Both IOP and aphakia were independent risk factors for glaucoma development, the researchers said.
Of the 54 people identified with glaucoma, 39 (72.22%) presented with a normal IOP. None of the subjects with glaucoma were aware of the disease.
Twelve people were blind, 10 in one eye and two bilaterally.
The study is published in the June issue of British Journal of Ophthalmology.