Epidemiology of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment in a Finnish population

Abstract

During a 4 yr period. 1978-1981, 310 eyes of 301 patients living in the districtof the Helsinki University Central Hospital [Finland] were examined for rhegmatogenous detachment of the retina. This corresponds to an annual incidence of 6.9/100,000 mean population. The mean age of the patients was 54.2 yr, and the sex distribution corresponded with that in the general population. The right eye was significantly (P < 0.05) more often affected than the left eye. Of the eyes 78% were phakic, and 22% were aphakic. The corresponding annual incidences were 5.4 for phakic and 1.5 for aphakic detachment/100,000 mean population. Myopia was found in 51% of the phakic and in 24% of the aphakic eyes. The estimated annual incidence of rhegmatogenous detachment in the myopic population was more than 3 times that in the nonmyopic population. The annual incidence of traumatic rhegmatogenous retinal detachment was 0.8/100,000 mean population. There were significant (P < 0.005) seasonal variations in the occurrence of retinal detachment.