News and notices. Comm Eye Health Vol. 14 No. 37 2001. March 01, 2001

Abstract

Rates of hospital admissions for primary angle closure glaucoma among Chinese, Malays and Indians in Singapore

Tien Yin Wong, Paul J Foster, Steve K L Seah, Paul T K Chew

Aim: To estimate the rates of hospital admissions for primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG) in Chinese, Malays and Indians in Singapore.

Methods: A population-wide hospital discharge database in Singapore was used to
identify all hospital admissions with a primary discharge diagnosis of PACG (International Classification of Disease- CM code: 365.2). The Singapore census was used for denominator data.

Results: Between 1993 and 1997 there were 894 hospital admissions for PACG. The mean annual rate of PACG admissions was 11.1 per 100 000 (95% confidence interval (CI), 10.4, 11.8) among people aged 30 years and over. The annual rate was highest for Chinese (age and sex adjusted rate: 12.2 per 100 000), which was twice that of Malays (6.0 per 100 000) and Indians (6.3 per 100 000). Females had two times higher rates than males in all three races (age adjusted relative risk: 2.0, 95% CI: 1.7, 2.3).

Conclusion: Malay and Indian people had identical rates of hospital admissions for PACG, which were only half the rates compared with Chinese.

Published courtesy of: Br J Ophthalmol 2000; 84: 990-92.

News and notices in Comm Eye Health Vol. 14 No. 37 2001 –