The prevalence of pseudoexfoliation syndrome in Pakistan. Hospital based study.
BACKGROUND
Pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PXS) is the most common identifiable cause of secondary glaucoma, the prevalence of which varies considerably among different ethnicities. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of pseudoexfoliation syndrome in Pakistan.


METHODS
A prospective study conducted in the period from January 2003 to June 2004 in a teaching hospital serving a population of about 7.6 million. 1860 patients aged 45 or above attending the general ophthalmic clinics were recruited for this study. A detailed evaluation including ophthalmic and general history, slit lamp biomicroscopy, intraocular pressure measurement, gonioscopy and dilated eye examination was performed on all patients.


RESULTS
120(6.45%) subjects were found to have PXS with a male to female ratio of 1.5:1. All 120 (100%) cases were bilateral and 48(40%) patients had high intraocular pressure.


CONCLUSIONS
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study conducted in a Pakistani population to determine the prevalence of PXS. The prevalence rate of 6.45% is similar to other studies conducted in south Asia, however all cases were bilateral and quite a high percentage of patients had high intra-ocular pressure.
Rao
Rashad Qamar
RQ
Department of Ophthalmology, South Wing St Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH, UK. drrashadqr@yahoo.com
Arain
Tariq Mehmood
TM
Ahad
Muhammad Ali
MA
D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D017889:Exfoliation Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009798:Ocular Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution