Abstract
Aim: To investigate the relationship between outdoor work and pterygium formation in a hospital-based case-control study in Singapore. Method: Sixty-one patients with pterygium (49 males, mean age 54.2 years) and 125 controls (41 males, mean age 50.2 years), excluding patients with cataract and age-related macular degeneration presenting at outpatient clinics of the Singapore National Eye Centre were interviewed face-to-face with a standard questionnaire. Demographic data and information on outdoor work and eye protection, were collected. Results: Thirty-eight subjects (20.4%) were outdoor workers and 148 (79.6%) were indoor workers. Outdoor workers were more likely to be male smokers and alcohol drinkers with lower family income and higher sunlight exposure than indoor workers. The crude odds ratio for pterygiumin outdoor workers was 7.0 (95% confidence interval 3.2, 15.3). The adjusted odds ratio was 4.2 (95% confidence interval 1.7, 10.1). Conclusion: There is a statistically significant association between outdoor work and pterygium formation, which may be related to the higher exposure to sunlight and dust in outdoor workers. Efforts may be made to educate outdoor workers to wear proper equipment to protect their eyes against excessive sunlight.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Wong WW. A hypothesis on the pathogenesis of pterygium. Ann Ophthalmol 1978; 303–308.
Hill JC, Maske R. Pathogenesis of pterygium. Eye 1989; 3: 218–226.
Kwok SL, Coroneo MT. A model for pterygium formation. Cornea 1994; 13: 219–224.
Tan D, Lim ASM, Goh HS, Smith DR. The p53 tumour suppressor gene is abnormally expressed in conjuctivae of pterygium patients. Am J Ophthalmol 1997; 3: 404–405.
Saw SM, Tan D. Pterygium: prevalence, demography and risk factors. Ophthalmic Epidemiology 1999; 6(3): 219–228.
Tan DTH, Chee SP, Dear KBG, Lim ASM. Effect of pterygium morphology on pterygium recurrence in a controlled trial comparing conjunctival autografting with bare sclera excision. Arch Ophthalmol 1997; 115: 1235–1240.
Taylor H, West S, Munoz B, Rosenthal F, Bressler S, Bressler N. The long term effects of visible light on the eye. Arch Ophthalmol 1992; 110L 99–104.
Taylor HR, West SK, Rosenthal ES. Effects of ultraviolet radiation on cataract formation. NEJM 1988; 319: 1429–1433.
Moran DJ, Hollows FC. Pterygium and ultraviolet radiation: a positive correlation. Br J Ophthalmol 1984; 68: 343–346.
Rojas JR, Malaga H. Pterygium in Lima, Peru. Ann Ophthalmol 1986; 18: 147–149.
Mackenzie FD, Hirst LW, Battistuta D, Green A. Risk analysis in the development of pterygia. Ophthalmology 1992; 99(7): 1056–1061.
Bergmanson JPG, Soderbergh S. The significance of ultraviolet radiation for eye diseases. Ophthalmol Physiol Opt 1995; 15: 83–91.
Rosenthal FS, Phoon C, Bakalian AE, Taylor HR. Ocular close of ultraviolet radiation to outdoor workers. Inv Op Vis Sci 1988; 29: 649–656.
Dhir, SP, Detels R, Alexander ER. The role of environmental factors in cataract, pterygium and trachoma. Am J Ophthalmol 1967; 64: 128–135.
Dimitry TJ. Dust factor in production of pterygium. Am J Ophthalmol 1937; 20: 40.
Nakaishi H, Yamamoto M, Ishida M, Someya I, Yamada Y. Pingueculae and pterygium in motorcycle policemen. Industrial Health 1997; 35(3): 325–329.
Mean and median monthly basic and gross wages of selected occupations for both sexes. In: 1997 Singapore Yearbook of Manpower Statistics, pp. 21–39.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Khoo, J., Saw, SM., Banerjee, K. et al. Outdoor work and the risk of pterygia: a case-control study. Int Ophthalmol 22, 293–298 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006340822308
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006340822308