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Visibility of lamina cribrosa pores and open-angle glaucoma
1University of Sydney Department of Ophthalmology, Westmead Millennium Institute, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, Australia. phealey@glaucoma.net.au
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.
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