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Prevalence and Risk Factors for Lens Opacities in Nigeria: Results of the National Blindness and Low Vision Survey

2014; Cadmus Press; Volume: 55; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1167/iovs.12-10303

1552-5783

Mohammed M. Abdull, Mansur Rabiu, Clare Gilbert, Selvaraj Sivasubramaniam, G. V. S. Murthy, Christian Ezelum, Gabriel Entekume,

Ophthalmology and Visual Impairment Studies

Purpose.: Investigate prevalence and risk factors for lens opacities among a nationally representative sample of Nigerians aged ≥40 years. Methods.: Across 305 clusters, 13,591 adults were examined. Every seventh participant (n = 1722) was sampled systematically and examined in detail, including lens opacity grading. Lenses were examined at the slit-lamp with pupil dilation and graded using the World Health Organization (WHO) system. Significant opacities were defined as nuclear, cortical, or posterior subcapsular opacity of WHO grade >1, or hyper/mature cataract. The category "Any Opacity" included hyper/mature opacity and aphakia/pseudophakia/couching. Data were collected on sociodemographic and environmental factors, including height and weight. Results.: A total of 1631/1722 (95%) in the normative subsample had their lenses graded. Prevalence of "Any Opacity" was 19.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 7.9–21.7) the prevalence of all types increased with age, and was higher in females and those not literate. Prevalence of nuclear, cortical, and posterior subcapsular were 8.8% (95% CI: 7.5–10.1); 11.7% (95% CI: 10.0–13.3); and 2.9% (95% CI: 2.1–3.8), respectively. In multivariate analysis, age was an independent risk factor for all types. Nuclear opacity was also associated with female sex (odds ratio [OR] 2.4; 95% CI: 1.5–3.6); lean body mass index (BMI; OR 2.0; 95% CI: 1.1–3.5); and the Igbo ethnic group (OR 4.4; 95% CI: 2.3–8.4). Cortical opacity was also associated with female sex (OR 2.1; 95% CI: 1.5–3.0) and the Yoruba (OR 0.45; 95% CI: 0.3–0.8), but not with BMI. "Other Lens Opacities," which includes couching, was significantly lower in the Guinea savannah region (OR 0.4; 95% CI: 0.2–0.9), while living in rain forest areas was protective for posterior subcapsular cataracts (OR 0.3; 95% CI: 0.1–0.7). Conclusions.: A fifth of Nigerian adults have some degree of lens opacity. Further studies are needed to investigate the role of ethnicity, climate variables, and other risk factors.