Abstract
Purpose::
To compare the clinical characteristics between pseudoexfoliative (PEX) and non-PEX subjects identified during the Thessaloniki Eye Study (TES) examination process.
Methods::
TES is a cross-sectional, population-based study in a Greek population. PEX was identified in clinic-visit participants by the presence of pseudoexfoliative material on the lens and/or the iris of either eye. Association of PEX with age and sex was analysed with regression models. Subjects with PEX were compared to those without PEX for IOP (higher between the two eyes), rate of IOP>22mmHg, rate of optic disc damage (thinning or notching), vertical cup/disc ratio (VCD) (higher between the two eyes), rate of VCD>0.7 and VCD asymmetry >0.2 (chi-square or Kruskall-Wallis test). The analysis was repeated after the glaucoma cases were excluded.
Results::
Among the 2261 clinic-visit participants in TES, 270 (12%) were identified as having PEX in either eye. After adjusting for sex, increasing age was associated with increasing prevalence of PEX (p<0.0001). Females were more likely to have PEX (O.R.=1.26;CI:0.97-1.63) than males (results adjusted for age).Subjects with PEX, compared to those without PEX, had higher screening IOPs (16.8mmHg vs 15.9 mmHg, p=0.002), higher rate of IOP>22mmHg (10.9% vs 5.8%, p=0.002), higher rate of optic disc damage (24% vs 14%, p<0.0001), higher rate of VCD>0.7 (9% vs 3%, p<0.0001), higher non significant rate of VCD asymmetry (12.1% vs 8.9%, p=0.09) and similar VCD (0.24 vs 0.21, p=0.19).After excluding subjects with glaucoma, subjects with PEX had similar IOPs, rates of IOP>22mmHg, rates of optic disc damage, VCD, and rates of VCD>0.7 and VCD asymmetry, compared to those without PEX.
Conclusions::
The prevalence of PEX increased with increasing age. PEX was not associated with higher IOPs, VCD ratios or rates of optic disc damage when glaucoma cases were excluded from the analysis, compared to non-PEX.
Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence