Prevalence of Vitreoretinal Interface Disorders in an Australian Population – The Blue Mountains Eye Study

ABSTRACT Purpose To describe the prevalence, risk factors and associations of vitreoretinal interface abnormalities (VRIs) in a population-based study of older adults. Design Cross sectional analysis of cohort study participants. Participants There were 1149 participants (mean age 76.1 ±6.9 years) at the 15-year Blue Mountains Eye Study follow-up examination in 2007–2009, of whom 905 (1791 eyes) had gradable time domain or spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans of the macula in at least one eye. Methods OCT scans were graded according to the International Vitreomacular Traction Study Group classification system of VRIs. Best Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA) was recorded. Results Overall 451 participants had any VRI (49.8%). VRI prevalence by person was: Vitreomacular adhesion (VMA 33.6%), Vitreomacular traction (VMT 1.6%), Epiretinal membrane (ERM 21.4%), Full thickness macular hole (FTMH 0.7%), and Lamellar macular hole (LMH 0.7%). 22% of VMAs were focal, and 78% were broad-based; 76% of VMTs were focal, 24% were broad-based. All FTMH observed were large (>400μm) with mean aperture size 573 μm (range 459 – 771 μm). Increased age was associated with higher ERM and lower VMA prevalence (p Conclusions The prevalence of VRIs is high in older individuals. ERM was associated with increasing age, pseudophakia and myopia. ERM and FTMH may account for significant visual loss in the affected eye. This study provides useful population-based data on the prevalence of VRIs in older individuals.