Abstract
Purpose:
To describe the prevalence of epiretinal membranes (ERM) and vitreoretinal traction (PVT) and their associations with macular cysts, partial thickness holes and visual impairment in a population-based study of older adults.
Methods:
There were 1913 participants aged 63 to 102 years at the 20-year Beaver Dam Eye Study examination phase, of whom 1,540 persons (2,980 eyes) had gradable spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) scans of the macula. The presence of ERM and PVT was determined by standardized grading of the macular scans and stereoscopic photos of three standard fields. Retinal diseases and conditions were defined as the presence of branch retinal or central retinal vein occlusion, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, cataract surgery, panretinal or local photocoagulation in people without diabetes, and self-report of retinal detachment.
Results:
The prevalence of ERM and PVT in the whole cohort was 34% and 2% respectively. The prevalence of ERM increased with age from 28% for those aged 63-74 years to 53% for those aged 85+ years, was higher in eyes with retinal diseases and conditions than in eyes in which these were absent, and was associated with visual impairment (odds ratio [OR] 3.1, P<0.01). After excluding eyes with retinal diseases and conditions, while adjusting for age and sex, the presence of ERM was associated with partial thickness holes (OR 7.85, P<0.01) and macular cysts (OR 4.62, P<0.01). The prevalence of PVT increased with age from 1% for those aged 63-74 years to 6% for those aged 85+ years and was associated with visual impairment (OR 3.03, P=0.04). In eyes without retinal diseases and conditions, while adjusting for age and sex, PVT was associated with the presence of retinal cysts (OR 22.42, P<0.01) and partial thickness macular holes (OR 5.41, P=0.03).
Conclusions:
Both ERM and PVT are associated with macular cysts, partial thickness holes and visual impairment. Further follow-up of this population will allow better understanding of the natural history of ERM and vitreoretinal traction and their relationship to the development of macular cysts and partial thickness macular holes.
Keywords: 463 clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence •
464 clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: risk factor assessment •
692 retinal adhesion