Prevalence and Risk Factors for Cornea Guttata in the Reykjavik Eye Study
Presented at: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting, May, 2003; Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Scandinavian Ophthalmology Congress, June, 2004; Malmö, Sweden.
Received 14 July 2005; accepted 20 December 2005.
Purpose
To establish the age- and gender-specific prevalence of cornea guttata (CG) in citizens of Reykjavik, Iceland, 55 years and older.
Design
Cross-sectional, random, population-based study.
Participants
The 774 participants were those participating in the second examination of the Reykjavik Eye Study. At baseline, we had a response rate of 75.8%, and at the 5-year follow-up, 88% of the survivors participated.
Methods
We used slit-lamp and non-contact specular microscopy and endothelial specular photography as well as computer-assisted morphometry. We used a standardized grading system for CG.
Main Outcome Measures
Diagnosis of primary central CG.
Results
The prevalence of CG is 11% for females and 7% for males both for right eyes and left eyes. Higher weight and higher body mass index are found to be associated with decreased risk of CG. Having smoked more than 20 pack-years increased the risk of CG more than 2-fold (P<0.02).
Conclusions
Cornea guttata seem to be found more commonly in women than in men. Smoking for more than 20 pack-years increases the risk of developing CG more than 2-fold.
1Department of Ophthalmology, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland.
2Department of Ophthalmology, Kanazawa Medical University, Uschinada, Japan.
Correspondence to Fridbert Jonasson, MD, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Iceland, Landspitalinn, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland.
Manuscript no. 2005-650.
Supported by St. Joseph’s Hospital Landakot Foundation, Reykjavik, Iceland; University National Hospital Research Fund, Reykjavik, Iceland; University of Iceland (Reykjavik, Iceland) Research Grant; and the Helga Jonsdottir and Sigurlidi Kristjansson Memorial Research Fund, Reykjavik, Iceland.
The authors have no financial interests in the article.
ABSTRACT