Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose:The purpose of this study is to determine the age-, and gender-specific prevalence and associations of epiretinal membranes in a population-based sample of adult Latinos. Methods:The LALES is a population-based prevalence study of eye disease among Latinos aged 40 and older. All participants underwent a complete ophthalmologic examination including stereoscopic retinal photography. Epiretinal membranes were diagnosed by masked photographic grading by trained graders. Statistical analysis of the data included frequency distributions, chi-square analyses and t-tests. Results:5209 Latinos aged 40 or more years, with gradeable retinal photographs were included in the analysis. The mean age was 54 years and 58% were female. Epiretinal membranes were present in 943 participants (18.1%; 95% CI 16.9%, 19.1%), and were bilateral in 185 (19.6%). The age-specific prevalence was 10.3% in persons 40-49 years of age, 15.1% in persons 50 to 59 years of age, 31.3% in persons 60 to 69 years of age, 34.7% in persons 70-79 years of age and 20.8% in those 80 years and older. There was no difference in prevalence rates between men and women (both 18.1%). Two stages were identified: an early form without retinal folds, termed "cellophane macular reflex", (CMR) present alone in 15.9%, and a later stage with retinal folds, termed "preretinal macular fibrosis" (PMF), found in 2.2% of the population. In 12.9% of PMF cases, retinal folds were present within the central 500µm. There was no significant association with diabetes (18.3% vs. 17.5% without, p =0.54), nor with signs of diabetic retinopathy (17.6% vs. 19.0%, p value 0.22). Epiretinal membranes were found in 35.4% of persons who had undergone cataract surgery in one or both eyes, more than double those who hadn't (17.1%) (OR 2.2). PMF was almost five times as prevalent in participants with a history of cataract surgery (9.5%) as those without (2%). Eyes with central PMF had worse visual acuity compared to eyes with non-central PMF (p<0.0001). Conclusions: Epiretinal membranes are a common retinal condition in Latinos. They are more likely to be present in older Latinos and in those who have undergone cataract surgery.
Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: pre • retina