Ophthamological Conditions Among Elderly Patients Attending a Private Eye Care Facility in Malawi.

Abstract

Background: The elderly comprises the fastest-expanding age group globally, with the greatest increase occurring in developing countries. The elderly populace is prone to develop various ocular morbidities. Purpose: To determine the distribution of ocular morbidities among the elderly population visiting a private eye care facility in Malawi. Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted at St John’s Hospital in Mzuzu, Malawi. We retrieved data from the hospital’s ophthalmic outpatient registry from January to December 2021. A non-probability census sampling technique was used to recruit 52 elderly patients. Data analysis were done employing SPSS (v.26) Results: Less males 25 (48.1%) than females 27 (51.9%) had ocular morbidities. Refractive error 21 (40.4%) was the most prevalent ocular morbidity followed by cataract 13 (25.0%), pinguecula 6 (11.5%), and glaucoma 4 (7.7%). No sex and age association were found with any of the ocular morbidities (p>0.05). Conclusion: The pattern of eye diseases is endemic to the country. More resources should be targeting main causes of preventable blindness including refractive error and cataracts.