Association of Primary Open Angle Glaucoma with Axial myopia.

Abstract

Background: Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) is observed to be associated with axial myopia, if diagnosed at an early stage and early age can help in a great extent to avoid irreversible blindness and reduce the blind years of the patient. Aims: We intend to take up the study to correlate Axial Myopia with POAG and POAG Suspects and also to document the correlation between the severity of Axial Myopia and POAG and with POAG Suspects. Settings and Design: This was an observational study, where axial myopes (axial length more than 24.50 mm and spherical equivalence equal to or more than -0.5D) were included. Methods and Material: Intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement, gonioscopy, fundus evaluation and visual field analysis was done. Patients were examined and diagnosed as POAG, IOP suspects and Disc suspects. Each of the groups were again correlated as per severity in axial length. Results: Out of 162 eyes, males were 55.56% (n= 90) and females were 44.44 % (n=72) of the study population. 62.9 % of the patients (n=102) belonged to the age group 41-50 years and 37.8 % (n=60) belonged to 30-40 years. The average age noted was 43 +5.97 years. 22.22 % (n=26) were diagnosed POAG and had an association with axial length (p=0.046), while no association with age (0= 0.361) and gender (p=0.933). IOP suspects formed 8.64 % (n=14) of the population, showed association with gender (p=0.008) but there was no association with age (p=0.637) and axial length (p=0.361). Disc suspects formed 27.16 % (n=44) of the population, showed no association with age (p=0.797), gender (p=0.316) and axial length (p=0.070). Conclusions: Our study showed association of axial myopia (aged 41-50 years) with POAG (22.2 %). IOP suspects had predilection to male population (p=0.046). No such association was found in disc suspects.