[A review of the Eye Health Care Project in Tajimi]

Abstract

The results of the Eye Health Care Project in Tajimi, conducted concurrently with the Tajimi Study, a population-based prevalence survey of glaucoma by the Japan Glaucoma Society, are summarized. The project was carried out from September, 2000 to October, 2001. The target population was 50,165, out of which 14,779 citizens participated, which yielded a response rate of 29.5%. A study on the efficacy of the van Herick method showed that 65.9% of eyes with grade 1 or 2 had gonioscopically narrow angles with grade 2 or less of the Shaffer classification and that 17.9% of eyes with van Herick grade 1 were angle-closure suspects and 5.6% of grade 2 were also suspect. In a disc hemorrhage study, hemorrhage was found in 8.2% of glaucoma cases and 0.2% of non-glaucoma participants. Similarly, superior segmental optic hypoplasia was found in 0.3% of the participants studied. The central corneal thickness (CCT) averaged 517.5 +/- 29.8 microm (mean +/- standard deviation). True IOP was estimated by the equation: Estimated IOP (mmHg) = Measured IOP - 0.012 * (CCT (microm) - 520), which means that a 100 microm change in CCT may cause a 1.2 mmHg measurement error in IOP. The average IOP in ophthalmologically normal eyes was 14.1 +/- 2.3 mmHg. The IOP showed negative correlation with age, corneal radius of curvature, and refractive error, and it was positively correlated with CCT, systolic blood pressure, and body mass index. In addition, the points of discussion of the original papers are described.