Abstract
Purpose::
To describe the prevalence and risk factors of ocular trauma in a Malay adult population in Singapore.
Methods::
A population-based, cross-sectional study of 3,280 (78.7% response rate) Malays aged 40-80 years was conducted during 2004-6 in Singapore. The study population was selected based on an age-stratified random sampling procedure among Malay people living in the south-western part of Singapore. Participants had a face-to-face interview using a standardized questionnaire. Ocular trauma was ascertained from 7 questions within the questionnaire, and defined as any eye injury serious enough to require medical attention from a doctor.
Results::
Of the 3280 participants, 149 (prevalence of 4.5%, 95% confidence interval, CI, 3.8% to 5.3%) reported a history of ocular trauma. Of these 149 cases, 26.9% were trauma from a blunt object, 36.5% from a sharp object, and 19.2% from chemical burns. Men had a higher prevalence of ocular trauma than women (3.6% vs 0.9%, age-adjusted odds ratio, OR, 3.6, CI 2.1-6.1), and older persons were less likely to have ocular trauma than younger persons (per year increase in age, OR 0.93, CI 0.87-0.99). Among men aged 50-59 years, a third (34.2%) reported a history of trauma in either eye. Of all ocular trauma cases, 41.9% had monthly income <$1000, 28.9% worked in the service industry, and 29.4% (n=32) required a hospitalization. After adjusting for age and gender, we found no significant association of ocular trauma with the presence of diabetes or hypertension, types of occupation, income or education levels and cigarette smoking.
Conclusions::
In this urban population of Malay adults in Singapore, we found a relatively low prevalence of ocular trauma compared to the prevalence rates reported from other Asian and western countries. The male predominant pattern in the prevalence is likely due to a high frequency of occupational or outdoor exposure for men than for women.
Keywords: trauma • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: risk factor assessment • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence