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BMJ Publishing Group, British Journal of Ophthalmology, 5(104), p. 610-615, 2019

DOI: 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2019-314760

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Singapore Chinese Eye Study: key findings from baseline examination and the rationale, methodology of the 6-year follow-up series

This paper was not found in any repository, but could be made available legally by the author.
This paper was not found in any repository, but could be made available legally by the author.

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Abstract

Background/aimsIn order to address the eye care needs of the increasing numbers of elderly Chinese globally, there is a need for comprehensive understanding on the longitudinal trends of age-related eye diseases among Chinese. We herein report the key findings from the baseline Singapore Chinese Eye Study (SCES-1), and describe the rationale and methodology of the 6-year follow-up study (SCES-2).Methods3353 Chinese adults who participated in the baseline SCES-1 (2009–2011) were invited for the 6-year follow-up SCES-2 (2015–2017). Examination procedures for SCES-2 included standardised ocular, systemic examinations and questionnaires identical to SCES-1. SCES-2 further included new examinations such as optical coherence tomography angiography, and questionnaires to evaluate health impact and economic burden of eye diseases.ResultsIn SCES-1, the age-adjusted prevalence of best-corrected low vision (VA<6/12, better-seeing eye) and blindness (VA<6/60, better-seeing eye) were 3.4% and 0.2%, respectively. The prevalence rates for glaucoma, age related macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy (among diabetics) were 3.2%, 6.8%, 26.2%, respectively. Of the 3033 eligible individuals from SCES-1, 2661 participated in SCES-2 (response rate=87.7%). Comparing with those who did not attend SCES-2, those attended were younger, had higher SES (all p<0.001), but less likely to be a current smoker, to have diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia (all p≤0.025).ConclusionsBuilding on SCES-1, SCES-2 will be one of the few longitudinal population-based eye studies to report incidence, progression, and risk factors of major age-related eye diseases. Findings from this cohort may offer new insights, and provide useful reference information for other Chinese populations elsewhere.