Pseudoexfoliation in the Reykjavik Eye Study: prevalence and related ophthalmological variables

• Published in: Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica
• Main Authors: Arnarsson, Arsaell, Damji, Karim F., Sverrisson, Thordur, Sasaki, Hiroshi, Jonasson, Fridbert
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2007
• Subjects: Iceland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0420.2007.01051.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1600-0420.2007.01051.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1600-0420.2007.01051.x

Abstract. Purpose: To examine the age and sex‐specific prevalence of pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PEX) and its relationship with some ophthalmological variables. Methods: We carried out a population‐based study using a random sample taken from the national population census for citizens of Reykjavik, aged ≥ 50 years. A total of 1045 individuals participated in all parts of the study. Pseudoexfoliation was established by slit‐lamp examination with a maximally dilated pupil carried out by two experienced ophthalmologists, who were masked to one another’s results except in cases of disagreement where they had to reach a consensus. Results: In all, 108 (10.7%) persons were found to have PEX in at least one eye. Prevalence increased from 2.5% in those aged 50–59 years to 40.6% in those aged ≥ 80 years. Women were more frequently affected than men (12.3% versus 8.7%). This difference remained statistically significant after controlling for the effect of age (p < 0.001). Eyes with PEX were found to have higher intraocular pressure (IOP) than eyes without PEX (p < 0.05). However, PEX was not found to be related to central corneal thickness, anterior chamber depth, lens thickness, nuclear lens opacifications or optic disc morphology in a multivariate model. Conclusions: Pseudoexfoliation is an age‐related phenomenon commonly found in Iceland. It is more commonly found in women than in men and is associated with elevated IOP.