The Prevalence of Pseudoexfoliation Syndrome and Pseudoexfoliation Glaucoma in South Kashmir

BACKGROUND: Pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PXS) is the most common identifiable cause of secondary glaucoma with a considerable variability in its prevalence among different ethnicities. OBJECTIVE: To study the Prevalence of Pseudoexfoliation Glaucoma and PXS in South Kashmir. METHODS: In this Hospital-based study, all consenting patients, 45 years or older, presenting to out-patient ophthalmology department of a sub-district hospital in South Kashmir from August 2011 to May 2012 were enrolled. All subjects underwent a complete ophthalmological evaluation as per a standard protocol. RESULTS: The prevalence of PEXS was found to be 7.10 % and PEX glaucoma to be 3.10 %. PXS was bilateral in 84.5% of the cases. There was age-related increase in prevalence of PEX from prevalence of 2.80% in less than 50 years to prevalence of 10.80% in above 70 years. 48.35 % of the case of PEXS had glaucoma. CONCLUSIONS: PXS and PEX glaucoma is quite common in middle-aged and older subjects of South Kashmir. Early detection of such cases can prevent loss of vision due to glaucoma in affected subjects. JMS 2012;15(1):51-53.