Incidence and progression of lens opacities in the Barbados Eye Studies☆
Section snippets
Materials and methods
The Barbados Eye Studies, funded by the National Eye Institute, is a series of population-based investigations on the prevalence, incidence, progression, and risk factors for major causes of visual loss. The BES (1987–1992)14 measured prevalence and risk factors for major eye diseases in a random sample of Barbadian-born citizens, 40 to 84 years of age, with 84% participation. Of the 4631 BES participants completing examinations at the study site, 4314 (93%) self-reported their race as black,
Results
As described previously,15 of the 3427 persons who participated in BISED, 3193 (93%) reported their race as black, 139 (4%) as mixed, and 95 (3%) as white or other. The median age of the 3193 BISED black participants at baseline was 57 years (mean ± standard deviation = 57.6 ± 11.5 years) and 58% were women. Complete LOCS II gradings were not available for all participants because of aphakia, advanced cataract, refusal to dilate, or other reason for nongradability. As a result, 2963 had
Discussion
The Barbados Eye Studies provide the first comprehensive data on the natural history of lens opacities in a predominantly black population, as far as we know. The information obtained at baseline and at follow-up has documented the high prevalence, incidence, and progression of cataract, particularly of cortical cataract, in this population. At baseline, more than two fifths of black participants had lens changes, with cortical opacities being the most prevalent type (34%).5 An increased risk
Conclusions
A high risk of cataract in black populations, especially of cortical cataract, has been confirmed. In younger adults, cortical-only opacities were the first type noted and the most common opacities developing in persons free of lens changes at baseline. The frequent occurrence of cortical opacities may be related to the high prevalence of diabetes, highlighting the need for glycemic control. Although nuclear and PSC opacities were less common, they were often accompanied by visual loss. The
Principal investigator: M. Cristina Leske, MD, MPH
Coordinating Center
University at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York: M.C. Leske, MD, MPH, Barbara Nemesure, PhD, Suh-Yuh Wu, MA, Leslie Hyman, PhD, Xiaowei Li, PhD, Shu-Hong Xie, MS, Lixin Jiang, MS, Kasthuri Sarma, Barbara Springhorn, Koumudi Manthani.
Data collection center
Ministry of Health and the Environment, Bridgetown, Barbados, West Indies: Anthea M.S. Connell, FRCS, FRCOphth, Anselm Hennis, MRCP(UK), PhD, Ann Bannister, MB, BS, Muthu A. Thangaraj, MB, BS, Coreen Barrow; Patricia Basdeo, Kim Bayley,
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Barbados Eye Studies participants and the Ministry of Health and the Environment, Barbados, West Indies, for their role in the study.
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Cited by (0)
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Supported by grants EYO7625 and EYO7617 from the National Eye Institute, Bethesda, MD.
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The authors have no commercial interests in the materials used in this study.