Prevalence and risk factors of epiretinal membrane: Data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey VII (2017–2018)

Abstract

Background To determine the prevalence and risk factors of epiretinal membrane (ERM) utilising spectral‐domain optical coherence tomography (SD‐OCT). Methods We investigated data from the 2017 to 2018 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Individuals aged ≥40 years with readable fundus photographs and SD‐OCT results were included. ERM was diagnosed by fundus photography and OCT. The following data was collected: demographics, health interview, health examination, and nutritional survey results. The prevalence of ERM was estimated and risk factors for ERM were analysed. Results A total of 6807 participants were finally included. Adjusted prevalence of ERM was 7.0% (95% confidence interval, 6.3%–7.8%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age ≥ 50 years (p < 0.001 for all age groups), history of cataract surgery (p < 0.001), well‐controlled hypertension (p = 0.006), and diabetic retinopathy (p = 0.041) were risk factors for ERM. Conclusions The estimated prevalence of ERM was 7.0%, which was higher than that of previous reports using fundus photography only in an East Asian population. Possible risk factors for ERM were older age, history of cataract surgery, hypertension, and diabetic retinopathy.

Long-Term Intraocular Pressure Fluctuation and Epiretinal Membrane in Patients with Glaucoma or Glaucoma Suspect

“…Several estimates might explain the correlation between greater IOP fluctuation and ERM. Previous history of cataract surgery is one of risk factors for development of idiopathic ERM [5,32]. In this study, glaucoma patients with ERM showed a higher proportion of eyes with a history of cataract surgery than those without ERM (p = 0.013), even though the correlation did not remain in multiple logistic regression analysis (p = 0.104).…”

“…Old age is one of the well-known factors associated with the presence of ERM [3,4,32]. The correlation between aging and ERM could be related to the findings that PVD develops increasingly with age [32,38].…”

“…Old age is one of the well-known factors associated with the presence of ERM [3,4,32]. The correlation between aging and ERM could be related to the findings that PVD develops increasingly with age [32,38]. When PVD occurs, vitreomacular traction triggers defects in the internal limiting membrane, and cellular components such as glial cells migrate to defects in the retinal surface, leading to ERM formation [32,38].…”

Imaging and robotics: The future of epiretinal membrane management

“…2 ERM prevalence was 7.0% and was positively associated with increasing age, history of cataract surgery, hypertension, and diabetic retinopathy. 2 Data on visual acuity, symptoms, OCT morphology, and intervention for ERM were not available in this study. The authors comment that the prevalence of ERM is lower than those reported in American and European studies, and suggested that variation in ERM prevalence with ethnicity is worthy of further investigation.…”

“…Kim and colleagues present a robust cross‐sectional study of 6807 randomly selected Koreans from 2017 to 2018, where ERM prevalence was determined with colour fundus photography and high‐definition optical coherence tomography (OCT) 2 . ERM prevalence was 7.0% and was positively associated with increasing age, history of cataract surgery, hypertension, and diabetic retinopathy 2 .…”