Prevalence of Epiretinal Membrane among Subjects in a Health Examination Program in Japan.

Hiroshi Shimizu,Shuhei Yamaguchi,Yuri Fujino,Shingo Mitaki,Masaki Tanito,Ryo Asaoka,Keiichi Onoda,Atsushi Nagai,Takashi Omoto

doi:10.3390/life11020093

Hiroshi Shimizu, Shuhei Yamaguchi + Show 7 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/life11020093

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Abstract

The prevalence of an epiretinal membrane (ERM) was elucidated using a dataset from a health examination program database in Japan. From the cohort database, 5042 eyes of 2552 subjects were included. The presence of an ERM, cellophane macular reflex (CMR), or preretinal macular fibrosis (PMF) was detected using color fundus photographs, and crude and age-standardized prevalence were obtained. To further assess the possible risk factors of ERM, background parameters were compared between ERM+ and − groups, and multiple logistic regression analysis was performed. ERM was detected in fundus photographs of 275 eyes (eye-based prevalence of 5.5%) from 217 subjects (subject-based prevalence of 8.5%). CMR was detected in 169 eyes (3.4%) of 138 subjects (5.4%), and PMF was detected in 106 eyes (2.1%) of 97 subjects (3.8%). By univariate analyses, compared with ERM− eyes or subjects, higher Scheie’s H grade (p < 0.0001), S grade (p < 0.0001), and glaucoma prevalence (p = 0.0440) were found in ERM+ eyes, and older age (p < 0.0001), more frequent histories of hypertension (p = 0.0033) and hyperlipidemia (p = 0.0441), and more frequent uses of medication for hypertension (p = 0.0034) and hyperlipidemia (p = 0.0074), shorter body height (p = 0.0122), and higher systolic blood pressure (p = 0.0078), and thicker intimal medial thickness (p = 0.0318) were found in ERM+ subjects. By multivariate analyses, older age (p < 0.0001, estimate = 0.05/year) was the only significant factor of ERM prevalence. Age-standardized prevalence of ERM was calculated to be 2.4%, 6.7%, and 13.3% for all ages, subjects older than 40 years, and subjects older than 65 years, respectively. We reported the prevalence of ERM and its subclasses in Japanese subjects. Since its prevalence is remarkably high in older subjects, an ERM can be seen as an important cause of visual impairment in Japan and in areas of the world where individuals live to an advanced age.

Highlights

epiretinal membrane (ERM) can be further classified into cellophane macular reflex (CMR), an early form of ERM, and preretinal macular fibrosis (PMF), a late phase of ERM
The following parameters were retrieved for the analyses; histories of systemic hypertension, hypertension medication, diabetes, diabetes medication, hyperlipidemia, hyperlipidemia medication, cardiovascular disease, stroke, smoking habit, age, sex, height, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), percent body fat, blood examination values, and mean intimal medial thickness (IMT) of both carotid arteries
ERM was detected in fundus photographs of 275 eyes

Summary

Introduction

An epiretinal membrane (ERM) is a sheet-like structure which develops on the inner surface of the neurosensory retina. ERM can be classified into idiopathic or secondary to other retinal pathologies including retinal breaks, retinal vein occlusion, diabetic retinopathy, uveitis, and other ocular inflammatory diseases [1]. The prevalence of ERM was investigated in several studies in the United States [2,3,4], Singapore [5,6,7], China [8,9,10,11], Korea [12,13], Australia [14,15,16,17], France [18], and Japan [19,20]

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