Clinical characteristics and treatment willingness of outpatients with vitreous floaters: a real-world study in China.

PURPOSE: Vision Degrading Myodesopsia from vitreous floaters is underappreciated as a disease. We characterized the demographic and clinical profiles of outpatients with vitreous floaters in a real-world Chinese outpatient clinic setting.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted on outpatients with the chief complaint of floaters between 2022 and 2025. Age, gender, systemic history, refractive status, and treatment willingness were assessed. Fundus imaging using scanning laser ophthalmoscopy diagnosed posterior vitreous detachment (PVD).

RESULTS

Enrolled were 589 phakic patients (205 males, 384 females). Females (65.2% of the study population) were older (48.9 ± 13.4 years) than males (43.8 ± 14.9 years) (P < 0.001). Bilateral vitreous floaters were present in 29.5% of patients who were younger (43.4 ± 15.1 years) than those with unilateral symptoms (48.7 ± 13.4 years) (P < 0.001). Myopia (median refraction - 5.00D; range: -0.50D to -14.00D) was present in 231/589 (39.2%), and myopic patients were younger (38.9 ± 12.0 years) than non-myopic patients (52.4 ± 12.8 years; P < 0.001). Myopia prevalence was lower in females (34.9%) than males (47.3%) (P = 0.003), and lower in unilateral (35.2%) than bilateral cases (48.9%) (P = 0.002). The fundus was normal in 420/589 (71.3%). The most common abnormalities were peripheral retinal degeneration (45/589, 7.6%), retinal breaks (25/589, 4.2%), PVD (19/589, 3.2%), retinal hemorrhage (18/589, 3.1%), and age-related macular degeneration (16/589, 2.7%), The overwhelming majority (385/420, 91.7%) expressed a willingness to receive treatment to alleviate floater symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

In real-world China, outpatients with vitreous floaters are primarily young and myopic, with bilateral symptoms. The high willingness to undergo treatment underscores the unmet need for safe and effective therapies for vitreous floaters in China.