Prevalence and Associated Factors of Pseudoexfoliation Syndrome in an Iranian Elderly Population: The Tehran Geriatric Eye Study

Abstract

ABSTRACT Purpose To investigate the prevalence and associated factors of pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PEX) in an Iranian elderly population. Methods This study, a population-based cross-sectional study conducted on individuals ≥60 years in Tehran, the capital of Iran in 2019 using a multi-stage stratified random cluster sampling. All study participants underwent complete ocular examination (including measurement of uncorrected and best-corrected visual acuity, refraction, slit-lamp biomicroscopy). The PEX was diagnosed based on the presence of white fluffy dandruff-like pseudoexfoliative material on the pupillary margin, on the anterior lens capsule, and/or the trabecular meshwork. Results Of the 3791 invitees, 3310 participated in the TGES (response rate: 87.3%). After applying exclusion criteria, the data of 3274 individuals were analyzed for this report. The overall prevalence of PEX was 3.63% (95% CI:2.67–4.58) in this study. 81.1% of PEX cases were bilateral. The prevalence of PEX increased significantly with advancing age in a linear trend from 2.38% (95%: 1.27–3.48) in the age group 60–64 years to 6.48% (95%: 2.02–10.95) in the age group ≥80 years (OR = 1.05, p = 0.008). According to the multiple logistic regression model, advancing age (OR: 1.06, p = 0.002) and the presence of cataract (OR: 5.02, p < 0.001) were significantly associated with increased odds of PEX. Conclusion The results showed a lower prevalence of PEX in the Iranian elderly compared to previous studies on the elderly population. Advancing age and cataracts were the only associated factors of PEX in the present study.