Peudoexfoliation in a rural population of outhern India: the Aravind Comprehenive Eye urvey

Objective To determine the prevalence and rik factor for peudoexfoliation in a rural population of outhern India. Deign A population-baed cro-ectional tudy of peudoexfoliation with and without glaucoma in rural outhern India. Participant A total of 5,150 ubject aged 40 year and older from 50 cluter repreentative of three outhern ditrict of Tamil Nadu in outhern India. Method All participant had a comprehenive eye examination at the bae hopital, including viual acuity uing logarithm of minimal angle of reolution (logMAR) illiterate E chart and refraction, lit-lamp biomicrocopy, goniocopy, applanation tonometry, dilated fundu examination, and automated central 24-2 full-threhold perimetry. Peudoexfoliation (PXF) wa diagnoed by the preence of typical white depoit on the anterior len urface; additional ite included the cornea, iri, anterior vitreou face, poterior capule, and intraocular len in cataract-operated eye and change in the angle determined through goniocopy, including increaed pigmentation, PXF depoition, and PXF material within the angle. Reult The prevalence (95% confidence interval) of PXF wa 6.0% (5.3, 6.6). The prevalence increaed with age (P < .001) and wa greater in male (P = .01). Of ubject with PXF, 25.7% remained bilaterally blind after bet correction; 89.3% of thi bilateral blindne wa the reult of cataract. The prevalence of glaucoma among ubject with PXF wa 7.5%; exfoliation wa preent in 26.7% of thoe identified a primary open-angle glaucoma. On multivariate analyi, increaing age and male gender were ignificantly aociated with PXF. Concluion Peudoexfoliation appear to be a relatively common diorder in older individual in outhern India. Ophthalmologit in India may wih to focu on the detection of PXF, epecially conidering the relatively large burden of cataract in thi population, the rik for operative complication related to PXF, and the fact that PXF may be ued a a marker to aid in the detectection of glaucoma.