Estimated Incidence of Ophthalmic Conditions Associated with Optic Nerve Disease in Middle Tennessee

TL;DR

This study estimates the incidence rates of various ophthalmic conditions linked to optic nerve disease in Middle Tennessee, revealing variations by age, gender, and race using a large population-based dataset.

Contribution

It provides the first unified, population-based incidence estimates of optic nerve-related diseases in a single metropolitan area, highlighting demographic disparities.

Findings

Glaucoma incidence increases sharply after age 40.

Optic nerve edema peaks in females aged 25-34.

African Americans have higher likelihood of certain optic nerve conditions.

Abstract

Aims. The objective of this paper is to determine the incidence of ophthalmic disease potentially leading to optic nerve disease in Middle Tennessee. Methods. We use a retrospective population-based incidence study design focusing on the population of middle Tennessee and its nearby suburbs (N=3 397 515). The electronic medical records for all patients evaluated or treated at a large tertiary care hospital and clinics with an initial diagnosis of a disease either affecting the optic nerve, or potentially associated with optic nerve disease, between 2007 and 2014 were retrieved and analyzed. Results. 18 291 patients (10 808 F) with 18 779 incidence events were identified with an age range of 0-101 years from the query of the Vanderbilt BioVU. Estimated age-adjusted incidence per 100 000 population per year was 198.4/145.1 (glaucoma F/M), 14.4/11.4 (intrinsic optic nerve disease F/M), 10.6/5.8 (optic nerve edema F/M), 6.1/6.6 (orbital inflammation F/M), and 23.7/6.7 (thyroid disease F/M). Glaucoma incidence was strongly correlated with age with the incidence sharply increasing after age 40. Optic nerve edema incidence peaked in the 25-34 old females. African American population has increased likelihood of glaucoma, orbital inflammation, and thyroid disease. Conclusions. Mapping the incidence of pathologies of the optic nerve is essential to the understanding of the relative likelihood of these conditions and impacts upon public health. We find incidence of optic nerve diseases strongly varies by gender, age, and race which have not been previously studied using a unified framework or within a single metropolitan population