Prevalence and risk factors for myopic retinopathy in a Japanese population: the Hisayama Study

To examine the prevalence of myopic retinopathy and its risk factors in a general Japanese population.

Population-based, cross-sectional study.

In 2005, a total of 1969 Hisayama residents aged ≥ 40 years consented to participate in this study. Of these, 1892 subjects with adequate data were enrolled.

Each participant underwent comprehensive physical and eye examinations that included measurements of refractive error, axial lengths, and color fundus photography. Myopic retinopathy was defined as the presence of diffuse chorioretinal atrophy, patchy chorioretinal atrophy, lacquer cracks, or macular atrophy.

Prevalence of myopic retinopathy.

Thirty-three participants had myopic retinopathy and the prevalence was 1.7% (2.2% in women and 1.2% in men). The prevalence of myopic retinopathy increased significantly with advancing age. Diffuse chorioretinal atrophy, patchy chorioretinal atrophy, lacquer cracks, and macular atrophy were present in 1.7%, 0.4%, 0.2%, and 0.4% of subjects, respectively. In multivariate analysis, myopic retinopathy was significantly associated with older age (per 1 year: odds ratio [OR], 1.12; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07-1.18), female gender (OR, 3.29; 95% CI, 1.09-9.92), and longer axial length (per 1 mm: OR, 4.20; 95% CI, 3.03-5.83).

The prevalence of myopic retinopathy was 1.7% in a general Japanese population. Older age, female gender, and longer axial length were significant risk factors for myopic retinopathy.