Prevalence and factors associated with scleral hyaline plaque: clinical study of older adults in southeastern Brazil

PURPOSE To investigate the prevalence of scleral hyaline plaque among older adults in the city of Niterói in southeastern Brazil. A second goal was to assess the correlation between scleral hyaline plaque and several age-related diseases, including eye diseases and systemic diseases. METHODS The study sample comprised 667 participants who were followed for 15 months. The study had a prospective, longitudinal, observational design that established inclusion and exclusion criteria. The following variables were selected for correlation with scleral hyaline plaque: sex, age, age range, iris color, ethnicity, presence of cataract, moderate to high myopia, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetes mellitus, systemic arterial hypertension, degenerative arthritis, and osteoporosis. These correlations were assessed by means of the χ (2) test and Student's t-test. Multivariate analysis was performed to exclude factors that were potentially associated with aging exclusively but that did not have a direct relationship with hyaline plaque. Binary logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios, significance, and confidence intervals. RESULTS Scleral hyaline plaques were found in 177 patients (17.54%). There was a statistically significant association between the presence of hyaline plaques and sex (female), age range (≥70 years old), ethnicity (Caucasian), cataract, moderate to high myopia, systemic arterial hypertension, degenerative arthritis, and osteoporosis (P<0.05). On multivariate binary logistic regression analysis, only female sex, age range (≥70 years), moderate to high myopia, and degenerative arthritis exhibited significant correlation. CONCLUSION The prevalence of scleral hyaline plaque in the present study was higher than in previous reports in the medical literature. Several age-related diseases exhibited a correlation with scleral hyaline plaque. The most significant factors associated with scleral hyaline plaque were advanced age, female sex, moderate to high myopia, and degenerative arthritis.