Prevalence of Pseudoexfoliation Syndrome and Pseudoexfoliation Glaucoma in Population of North-West Croatia Aged 40 and Over

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of pseudoexfoliation syndrome and pseudoexfoliation glaucoma and to evaluate its association with open-angle glaucoma in patients attending the Department of Ophthalmology, Dr Tomislav Bardek General Hospital in Koprivnica, northwestern Croatia. This prospective study was conducted at Dr Tomislav Bardek General Hospital between December 2012 and October 2013. A total of 5349 subjects aged 40 or above presenting for general ophthalmic examination were screened for pseudoexfoliation syndrome and pseudoexfoliation glaucoma. Each patient underwent complete ophthalmologic examination including ocular history, visual acuity testing, slit-lamp examination, applanation tonometry, optic disc evaluation, visual field analysis, and gonioscopy if glaucoma was suspected. Exclusion criteria were pseudophakic and/or aphakic patients of any age, patients with concomitant congenital eye disease, and patients with very dense ocular media opacities. Out of 5349 patients examined, there were 1994 (38.38%) males and 3201 (61.61%) females. The prevalence of pseudoexfoliation syndrome was 3.6% and primary open angle glaucoma 9.4%, out of which 23.6% with pseudoexfoliation glaucoma. The findings of this study improve our knowledge of pseudoexfoliation syndrome and pseudoexfoliation glaucoma in Croatia, particularly in the northwest region.