Pseudoexfoliation in the Reykjavik eye study: Prevalence and related ophthalmological variables

• Main Authors: Arnarsson, Arsaell, Damji, Karim F, Sverrisson, Thordur, Sasaki, Hiroshi, Jonasson, Fridbert
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: eCommons@AKU 2007
• Subjects: Anterior chamber depth; Central corneal thickness; Epidemiology; Exfoliation; Glaucoma; Pseudoexfoliation; Eye Diseases; Ophthalmology; Iceland
• Online Access: https://ecommons.aku.edu/pakistan_fhs_mc_ophthalmol/89; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0420.2007.01051.x

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 > or = 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 > or = 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.