Purpose: To determine prevalence and associations of visible lamina cribrosa pores in an older population and assess whether this feature is associated with open-angle glaucoma (OAG).
Design: Case-control study nested within a large, population-based cross-sectional study.
Methods: The Blue Mountains Eye Study examined 3654 persons (82.4% of permanent residents of a defined area) aged over 48 years. Stereo optic disk photographs were taken and graded reliably in a masked fashion.
Results: Lamina pore visibility was associated with larger vertical cup-disk ratio and optic disk diameter, hyperopic refraction, and male gender. Pores were slightly less visible with increasing age. They were visible in 70.8% of subjects with open-angle glaucoma but in only 29.3% of normals. This strong association disappeared after adjusting for other variables.
Conclusion: Lamina cribrosa pores are commonly visible in glaucoma subjects and less commonly in normals. This association, however, is almost entirely because of an increased visibility associated with larger vertical cup-disk ratio and optic disk size.