Anisometropia Profile in Elderly Population: Tehran Geriatric Eye Study.

PURPOSE: To investigate the distribution and prevalence of anisometropia according to age, gender and ocular biometry in a geriatric population in Tehran, Iran.

METHODS

The present study was conducted on the geriatric population aged above 60 years. The study participants were selected using stratified random cluster sampling. The uncorrected and best-corrected visual acuity, dry objective (ARK510A, Nidek Co. 42 LTD, Aichi, Japan) and subjective refraction and ocular biometry (IOL Master 500; Carl Zeiss Meditec, Jena, Germany) were recorded for each patient. The magnitude and prevalence of anisometropia were evaluated in association with influential factors in cut-points of 0.50, 1.00, 1.50 and 2.00 diopter (D).

RESULTS

The mean age of participants (3237 individuals, 54% were female) was 68.19 ± 6.48 (range: 60-97) years. The mean anisometropia in the whole sample was 0.82 D (95% CI: 0.76 - 0.88 D), which increased from 0.62 D (in those aged 60-64 years old) to 1.36 D (in those above 80 years). The prevalence of anisometropia >1 D in total population, males, and females were 23.81%, 24.9%, and 22.76%, respectively. The odds ratio of anisometropia was higher in cases with cataracts, myopia compared to emmetropia, keratometry asymmetry, axial length asymmetry (P = .001), and corneal diameter asymmetry (all others, P < .001).

CONCLUSION

The results of the present study show a high prevalence of anisometropia in elderly population, which was related to refractive error, cataract, age, gender, and ocular biometry asymmetry.