Prevalence of pterygium and associated factors in patients attending Mulago Eye Clinic

Abstract

Background: Pterygium is a common ocular surface disorder considered to be brought about by ultraviolet radiation, among other risk factors. The geographical pooled prevalence has been estimated at 10.2% with significant variation across regions. Higher prevalences have been reported in regions with predominant sunny weather, high altitude, equatorial and tropical climates. Uganda has most of these characteristics but yet no data exist as to the burden of this disease in the region. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of pterygium and its associated factors in patients attending Mulago National Referral Hospital Eye Clinic. Method: This was a prospective hospital based cross-sectional study conducted between January 2019 and March 2019. We selected 516 patients from Mulago Hospital eye clinic(s) using a multistage stratified probability sampling technique. Thorough history and clinical examination were conducted; a pre-tested questionnaire was filled out. Data was entered into a computer using EpiData 3.1 and analyzed using STATA 11. Results: A total of 516 patients were recruited into this study. The mean age of the participants was 35 years. Majority were females(60.3%) while males made up 39.7%. Out of the 516 patients, 70 (13.6%) had pterygium. Pterygium occurrence was associated with Age above 40 years (OR 13.59, 95% CI: 1.78-103.95, p=0.012), Family history(OR 3.56, 95% CI: 1.72-7.35, p=0.001), Alcohol intake (OR 2.21, 95% CI: 1.13-3.97, p=0.02) and Dust exposure (OR 1.81, 95% CI:1.03-3.19, p=0.04). Conclusion: The prevalence of pterygium was high in our study and found to be associated with increasing age, positive family history, alcohol intake and dust exposure. 1