Epidemiology of Ocular Trauma Among the Elderly in a Developing Country

Abstract

Although eye injury in elderly occurred more commonly on the farm during farm related activities, gender related differences are present with injury occurring more commonly in the home and during assaults/disputes.

Patterns of ocular trauma among the elderly in a South-American urban area and the association between eye traumas with sleep disorders

“…In Southwest Nigeria, the male to female ratio was 1.9:1, and in Iran, the rate was 2.76. [ 13 14 ] In industrialized countries, the male to female ratio declines after the age 70 and reverses over 80 years. [ 4 ] In Scotland, a female preponderance was seen after the age of 75 years.…”

“…Although on a small frequency, this observation concurs with the Nigerian (51.9%) and the Scottish (60%) populations. [ 13 21 ] In general, older people are retired and spend most of their time at home. Even for subjects who engage in hobbies or other activities in community centers and/or churches, the time spent at those places is short lived.…”

“…Eye injury was mainly of closed globe variety (85.9%) during farm related activities (35.9%). [ 13 ] In the United States Eye Injury Registry (USEIR), however, disproportional high rates of injuries are ruptures mostly caused by fall at home. Falls are over 10 times more common in subjects over 60 years.…”

“…found open globe injury in 14.1% in Nigerian elderlies and made no differentiation between scleral and corneal lesion. [ 13 ] In the Scottish population, Desai et al . recounted penetrating injury in 12.0% (no IOFB) and 4.0% (with IOFB) with no reference to corneal or scleral lesions.…”

“…There is a paucity of data on the epidemiology of eye trauma in the older population, especially in developing nations. [ 13 14 ] Hence, the purpose of this study was 2-fold: to evaluate the features of ocular trauma in an urban hospital-based older population in South America and to access the possible association between the quality of sleep and the risk of eye trauma in the elderly. We hypothesize that older subjects with sleep disorders can have excessive daytime sleepiness and as a result, be prone to falls and/or accidents and sustain eye injuries.…”