Statistical study of ophthalmological diseases prevalence in Georgia based on the data of charity diagnostic events conducted in 16 regions

Abstract

Screening plays an important role in early detection, prevention and management of diseases. Obviously, screening measures are very valuable in ophthalmology practice, including for timely diagnosis and subsequent intervention of glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, refractive disorders, hereditary eye diseases. Screening events, on the other hand, are of different types and formats. Among them, community eye health charity programs are the most relevant, as they often play a crucial role in organizing community eye health programs aimed at early detection and prevention of eye diseases. Based on the cooperation of the Lions Eye Diabetic Clinic-Georgia and the State Service of Veterans Affairs of Georgia, in 2022-2023, a total of 19 charity events were held in 16 regions of Georgia for war veterans and their family members. Within the events, patients were checked for visual acuity, clinical refraction, intraocular pressure, if necessary, glasses were selected, ophthalmoscopy and eye biomicroscopic examination were performed and in case of pathology, they were given a prescription and, if necessary, were redirected according to regions. After each event, data of all patients were entered into Microsoft Excel, which created a single database of all examined patients. For statistical research, we used the data of patients' sex, age, diagnosis, treatment and the location of the action. Diseases detected in a total of 637 patients were grouped according to the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD 10) and statistically processed using the SPSS program. The rarest were diseases of the optic nerve and visual pathways, and the most common were diseases of the eye muscles, parallel movement, accommodation and refraction disorders. In the case of a number of diseases - blepharitis, anisometropia, conjunctivitis and pterygium - a higher frequency of disease was detected in men compared to women, and in the case of a number of diseases - dry eye syndrome, age-related cataract, diabetic retinopathy and background retinopathy - a higher frequency of the disease in women. Interestingly, in the case of certain diseases, a significant difference with the average age of all patients with the disease was revealed. As a result of the statistical study of the material, it is confirmed that a number of diseases are characterized by a higher tendency of detection depending on gender or place of residence. It should be emphasized that a large part of the examined patients were on vision screening for the first time, and a large part had undergone surgery, but due to the impossibility of control due to certain reasons, they were able to check the current condition of the organ of vision through the event. the results of this study and the fact that in the case of a number of patients the charity diagnosis event turned out to be essentially decisive in terms of future intervention and vision preservation, confirm the high effectiveness and relevance of such actions in Georgia. The tendency of some statistical variables to be detected with a high frequency in a specific group indicates the presence of certain risk factors that require additional research.