High rates of eye diseases found in Latino Eye Study

Latino people in the Los Angeles area have high rates of visual impairment and blindness and high rates of both diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma, according to data from a population-based study. The Los Angeles Latino Eye Study, or LALES, found that those who were older, unemployed, divorced or widowed or had diabetes were more likely to be visually impaired.

According to the National Eye Institute, the LALES, which included more than 6,300 self-identified Latinos, primarily Mexican-Americans, is the largest, most comprehensive epidemiologic analysis of visual impairment of Latino people conducted in the United States.

Many study participants did not know they had an eye disease, according to a press release from the NEI, a co-sponsor of the study. Of the people found to have diabetes during the study exam, one in five was newly diagnosed, and 25% of those subjects were also identified as having diabetic retinopathy at the time of the exam, the release said.

Rohit Varma, MD, MPH, and colleagues studied the prevalence of eye diseases and visual impairment in a population of more than 6,300 Latino people at least 40 years old living in La Puente, an area of Los Angeles County. All participants underwent a complete ophthalmologic examination, including IOP measurement, visual field testing via an automated field analyzer and stereoscopic fundus photography of the optic disc. They were also subjected to blood tests to identify diabetes.

The prevalence of ocular hypertension and open-angle glaucoma was higher in older Hispanics than in younger (P < .0001). The overall prevalence of open-angle glaucoma was 4.74%; the prevalence increased to about 8% for those in their 60s and about 15% for those in their 70s, according to the NEI. No gender differences were identified in the prevalence of open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Three-quarters of those with open-angle glaucoma and three-quarters of those with ocular hypertension were previously undiagnosed.

The study also found that Latinos had a high prevalence of early age-related macular degeneration but not of advanced AMD, according to a press release from the American Academy of Ophthalmology. In addition, more than 10% of participants with diabetes had diabetic macular edema, of whom 60% had cases severe enough to warrant laser treatment, the NEI press release said. Twenty percent of the participants had cataracts, and half of those with cataract or other clouding of the lens were visually impaired, the NEI release said.

“We cannot assume the results of this study apply to all Latinos, since Mexican-Americans are of Hispanic and American Indian descents, and this may be different than a Caribbean population, which would be of more Hispanic and African descents,” said AAO spokesperson Jose Pulido, MD. “Additional studies looking at the different Latino populations would be helpful.”

“There is an increasing need to implement culturally appropriate programs to detect and manage eye diseases in this population,” Dr. Varma said in the NEI release.

The study is published in the August issue of Ophthalmology.