Evaluation of the Association of Senile Macular Degeneration in Patients with Glaucoma

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to evaluate the incidence of senile macular degeneration (SMD) in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (PEG).
METHODS: The medical files of 2600 patients with glaucoma were analyzed. In this study, 168 patients (90 females and 78 males) with POAG and PEG were included. Patients diagnosed with POAG and PEG with SMD were also recorded. SMD was classified in two categories: Wet type and dry type. Lens status was classified as pseudophakic and phakic. Glaucoma severity was classified according to the Hodapp-Parrish-Anderson criteria. All patients underwent complete ophthalmologic examinations.
RESULTS: Ninety (53.57%) patients were female, and 78 (46.43%) were male. The mean age was 63±8.4 years for women and 66.5±7.8 years for men. Sixty-six (73.3%) of women and 60 (76.9%) of men had POAG, 24 (26.7%) of women and 18 (23.1%) of men had PEG. 18 (20.0%) right and 25 (27.8%) left eyes of women and 30 (38.5%) right and 24 (30.8%) left eyes of men were pseudophakic, 72 (80.0%) right and 65 (72.2%) left eyes of women and 48 (61.5%) right and 54 (69.2%) left eyes of men were phakic. SMD was observed in 10 patients (5.95%); four women and five men had dry-type SMD, while one man had wet-type SMD.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In our study, when gender, age, severity of glaucoma, pseudophakic and phakic status of the lens were evaluated in patients with the association of glaucoma and SMD, these variables had no statistically significant effect on the association of glaucoma and SMD.

Keywords: Cataract, primary open-angle glaucoma, pseudoexfoliation glaucoma, senile macular degeneration