Abstract
Purpose: :
To describe the prevalence of epiretinal membrane (ERM) and its risk factors in an Indian population and to compare the findings with another ethnic population in Sinagpore.
Methods: :
This was a population-based cross-sectional survey, the Singapore Indian Eye Study (SINDI) comprising of 3,400 (75.6% response) Indians aged between 40 to 80 years. A comprehensive ophthalmic examination, standardized interviews and laboratory blood tests were performed. Retinal fundus photographs were taken and the presence of ERM was assessed by trained graders following the definitions used in the Blue Mountains Eye Study. Two stages of ERM were identified: a less severe form termed "cellophane macular reflex" (CMR) and a more severe form termed "preretinal macular fibrosis" (PMF). The prevalence of ERM was further compared with the Singapore Malay Eye Study which used the same standardized protocol for ERM grading.
Results: :
A total of 3,328 retinal photographs [mean age 57.8 ± (SD) 10.1 years and 50.2% male] were included in this study. The age-standardized prevalence (to the 2010 Singapore Indian Population Census) of ERM was 7.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.8-8.6%); 4.1% (95% CI 3.5-4.9%) with CMR and 3.5% (95% CI 2.9-4.2%) with PMF. The prevalence of ERM was lower compared to the Malay population (9.1% (95% CI 8.2-10.2%)). Increased age (odds ratio [OR] 1.08; 95% CI: 1.07, 1.10;), lower blood triglyceride level (OR 0.85; 95% CI: 0.75, 0.97;), previous cataract surgery (OR 1.76; 95% CI: 1.26, 2.45;), hypermetropia (OR 0.92; 95% CI: 0.87, 0.98;) and narrower retinal arteriolar diameter (OR 0.988; 95% CI: 10.979, 0.997) were significantly associated with presence of ERM, after adjusting for age and gender.
Conclusions: :
ERM is common is an older Indian population. The prevalence of ERM in the Indian population is lower than in the Malay population. The significant risk factors for ERM in this Asian population were older age, lower triglyceride levels, previous cataract surgery, hypermetropia and narrower retinal arteriolar diameter.
Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence • macula/fovea • retina