title: Review of key findings from the Singapore Malay Eye Study (SiMES-1).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study highlights the key epidemiological findings from the Singapore Malay Eye Study (SiMES-1).
  
  
  METHODS
  SiMES-1 was a cross-sectional, population-based epidemiological study on eye diseases. It was performed on 3,280 randomly selected Malay adults living in the south-western part of Singapore. All study participants underwent various validated questionnaires and detailed eye examinations. A review of all papers published from SiMES-1 was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 24.6% of the study population had myopia, while 35.3% had hyperopia and 39.4% had astigmatism. 20.4% of the population had under-corrected refractive error. 1,338 (45.7%) participants were diagnosed to have cataracts in at least one eye. 8.6% of the study population had undergone cataract surgery in either eye, while 4.7% had bilateral cataract surgery. 150 (4.6%) participants were diagnosed to have glaucoma, of which primary open angle glaucoma was the most common type (3.2% of the study population), followed by secondary glaucoma (0.8%) and primary angle closure glaucoma (0.2%). Pterygium was diagnosed in 508 out of 3,266 study participants, giving a prevalence rate of 15.6%. The presence of diabetic retinopathy was observed in 421 (12.9%) out of 3,265 study participants. 183 (5.6%) study participants had some degree of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), of which 23 (0.7%) were classified as having late AMD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This paper provides a summary of the prevalence of common eye diseases among the Singaporean adult Malay population and provides data useful for public health education and disease prevention.
authors.affiliation: Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rosman
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lamoureux
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Saw
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aung
authors.forename: W T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Tay
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Tai
authors.forename: T Y
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001251:Astigmatism / Q000453:epidemiology; D002386:Cataract / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000453:epidemiology; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000453:epidemiology; D015812:Glaucoma, Angle-Closure / Q000453:epidemiology; D005902:Glaucoma, Open-Angle / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D006956:Hyperopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009216:Myopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011625:Pterygium / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology