Pseudoexfoliation syndrome in Australian adults

PURPOSE: To describe the prevalence and correlates of pseudoexfoliation syn drome in Australians aged 40 years and older. METHODS: Cluster, stratified sampling was employed to identify a cohort rep resentative of the population of the state of Victoria aged 40 years and ol der that included urban, rural, and nursing home residents. A standardized personal interview and clinical eye examination, including intraocular pres sure, were performed at locally established test sites. The presence of any pseudoexfoliation material on the iris or lens capsule was noted on dilate d slit-lamp examination. Participants were classified as having pseudoexfol iation syndrome if any pseudoexfoliation material was present in either eye . Univariate analyses with t tests and chi square were first employed to ev aluate risk factors for pseudoexfoliation, Any factors with P < .10 were th en fitted in a backward stepwise logistic regression model. For the final m ultivariate models, P < .05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: A total of 3,271 of the urban residents (83% of eligible), 403 nur sing home residents (90% of eligible), and 1473 rural residents (92%) parti cipated. The urban residents ranged in age from 40 to 98 years (mean = 59), and 1,511 (46%) were men. The nursing home residents ranged in age from 46 to 101 years (mean 82), and 85 (21%) were men. The rural residents ranged in age from 40 to 103 years (mean 60), and 701 (47.5%) were men. Participan ts with bilateral cataract extraction were excluded from further analyses. The overall rate of pseudoexfoliation syndrome in this population was 0.98% (95% confidence limit = 0,57, 1.28). The prevalence of pseudoexfoliation m aterial in either eye increased significantly with age. No cases of pseudoe xfoliation syndrome were observed in people aged 90 years and older. Howeve r, people with bilateral cataract surgery had been excluded from these anal yses. After adjusting for age and cataract, only glaucoma remained signific antly related to pseudoexfoliation (odds ratio = 3.80, 95% confidence limit = 1,73, 8,33). DISCUSSION: in conclusion, we found only two strong correlates of pseudoexf oliation in our population based sample of Victorians aged 40 years and old er: age and glaucoma. (C) 2000 by Elsevier Science Inc, All rights reserved .