title: Common ophthalmic problems of urban and rural postmenopausal women in a population sample of Raciborz district, a RAC-OST-POL Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We wished to establish the prevalence of eye diseases and eye disease risk factors at postmenopausal age and to compare ophthalmic problems in urban and rural areas of Raciborz.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was performed in 2010. Out of the whole population of Raciborz, Poland, 10 percent (1750) of women were randomly selected for the reported study. Finally, ocular diseases, ophthalmic agents, health status (physical activity level, body mass index - BMI, reproductive history, the use of psychotropic drugs and hormone replacement therapy - HRT) were recorded in 623 women. The women underwent visual acuity test and anterior segment examination, applanation tonometry and indirect ophthalmoscopy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of the selected patients was 66.01 ± 7.76 years, 275 (44%) of them originating from rural and 348 (56%) from urban regions. The average woman was obese (BMI=30.54 ± 5.38 kg/m(2)), with near normal agility and reproductive history of 2.59 ± 1.55 births, 147 (24%) subjects remained under regular HRT support. According to the WHO, the visual acuity was classified as normal or near normal in 87.5%, while no blindness was recorded at all. Visual acuity depended, first of all, on lens status and was better among subjects with good agility (R=-0.31, p=0.001). Dry eye prevalence increased significantly over age of 67 years (p=0.000) and HRT seemed to be a dry eye protective factor (p=0.010). Except age, No other risk factors of cataract, other than age, were identified. Normal agility (p=0.003) and HRT (p=0.032) were associated with lower AMD (age-related macular degeneration) prevalence rates. The differences between urban and rural participants were presented only in education, reproductive history, hypertension and frequency of ophthalmic examinations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Older adult women living in neighboring urban and rural areas present no differential in ophthalmic health problems.
authors.affiliation: Department and Clinic of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Rokicki
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Bogna
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Drozdzowska
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Raciborz, Poland.
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Czekajło
authors.affiliation: Department and Clinic of Internal Diseases, Diabetology and Nephrology, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Władysław
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Grzeszczak
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Medical University of Silesia, Poland.
authors.forename: Jacek
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Karpe
authors.affiliation: KCR S.A., Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wiktor
authors.affiliation: Department and Clinic of Internal Diseases, Diabetology and Nephrology, Metabolic Bone Diseases Unit, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Pluskiewicz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008875:Middle Aged; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D017698:Postmenopause; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population; D014792:Visual Acuity