Prevalence and associated factors of pterygium among adults living in Kolla diba town, Northwest Ethiopia

AbstractIntroductionPterygium is a disfiguring disease that can potentially lead to blindness and has a significant public health problem in rural areas. It is more common in warm, windy and dry climates of tropical and sub-tropical “pterygium belt” regions of Africa, including Ethiopia. Globally, the prevalence ranging from 0.07% to 53%. Studies conducted on the prevalence of pterygium in developing countries like Ethiopia were limited with wider discrepancy between them.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of pterygium and associated factors among adults in Kolla Diba town, Northwest Ethiopia, 2019.MethodA community-based cross-sectional study was done in Kolla Diba town from May 30-June 16, 2019. Systematic random sampling technique was used to select 627 study participants. Data was collected through basic ophthalmic examination with portable slit lamp, 3x magnifying loop and torchlight and a pretested structured questionnaire was administered to collect the data. Then the data entered into EPI INFO version 7 and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analysis were employed. P-values of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultA total of 605 study participants were involved with a response rate of 96.5%. Among them 317 (52.4%) participants were males. The mean age of the respondents was 38.18 ± 15.56 with a range of (18-95) in years. The overall Prevalence of pterygium among adults living in Kolla Diba town was 112 (18.5% (95% CI (15.6-21.7)). Being widowed (AOR = 7.32 (95%CI: 2.88, 18.57)), outdoor occupation (AOR = 2.50 (95%CI: 1.46, 4.29)), sun exposure (AOR = 2.38 (95%CI: 1.28, 4.43)), wind exposure (AOR = 1.97 (95%CI: 1.04, 3.72)), alcohol drinking (AOR = 2.26 (95%CI: 1.48, 4.63)), and severe blepharitis (AOR = 2.45 (95%CI: 1.48, 4.05)) had statistically significant positive association with pterygium.ConclusionThe prevalence of pterygium was relatively higher. Marital status (being widowed), outdoor occupation, sun exposure, wind exposure, alcohol drinking, and severe blepharitis were significantly associated with the development of pterygium.