Risk factors for visual impairment associated with corneal diseases in southern China

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographic profile of consecutive patients in the corneal clinic of The Second Xiangya Hospital (n=100)

Characteristic	Number of patients	P-value
Sex		1.000
Male	50
Female	50
Age (years) mean ± SD		0.276a
Average age	46.0±20.1
Male	43.8±19.8
Female	48.2±20.3
Location		0.194
Rural	57
Urban	43
Occupation		0.165
Indoor work	24
Nonagricultural work	16
Agricultural work	28
Children and students	15
Unemployed	17
Laterality of eye affected		0.756
Right eye	30
Left eye	36
Both eyes	34
Etiology		0.151
Noninfectious	55
Infectious	40
Both	5
Visual impairment		<0.001
Mild or no impairment	48
Moderate	12
Severe	10
Blindness	30

Notes:

a The Student’s t-test was used to compare age difference between males and females. The one-sample chi-square test was used in all other comparisons.

Abbreviation: SD, standard deviation.

Table 2 Effect of various factors on visual impairment by binary logistic analysis

Characteristic	Visual impairment (n, %)a		Adjusted OR [95% CI]	P-value
	Moderate/severe/blind	None/mild
Sex
F	19	31	1.00
M	33	17	3.37 [1.09–10.43]	0.035
Age (years)
0–17	4	7	1.00
18–39	6	16	0.64 [0.12–3.39]	0.595
40–59	22	15	2.94 [0.64–13.55]	0.166
≥60	20	10	5.08 [1.01–25.55]	0.048
Location
Urban	14	29	1.00
Rural	38	19	3.11 [1.22–7.89]	0.017
Occupation
Indoor work	10	14	1.00
Nonagricultural work	10	6	0.87 [0.16–4.71]	0.875
Agricultural work	18	10	0.49 [0.10–2.44]	0.384
Children and students	5	10	1.17 [0.06–22.53]	0.916
Without work	9	8	1.23 [0.28–5.45]	0.786
TCM
No use	42	44	1.00
Use	10	4	2.45 [0.58–10.45]	0.225
History of ocular trauma
No	37	36	1.00
Yes	15	12	0.89 [0.27–2.93]	0.850
Etiology^b
Noninfectious	24	31	1.00
Infectious	23	17	0.94 [0.33–2.63]	0.901

Notes:

a Given a total sample size of 100, % equals n. ^bFive patients were excluded in binary logistic analysis as they had both infectious and noninfectious corneal diseases.

Abbreviations: OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval; F, female; M, male; TCM, traditional Chinese medicine.

Figure 1 Mean visual acuity of patients with various etiologies of infectious keratitis.

Note: ^*Indicates a significant difference by the Student’s t-test.

Figure 2 Prevalence of noninfectious corneal diseases by etiology.

Abbreviation: DES, dry eye syndrome.

Table 3 Distribution of corneal diseases by rural or urban location

	Rural (%)	Urban (%)	Total	P-value
Etiology				0.005
Noninfectious	24 (43.6)	31 (56.4)	55
Infectious	29 (72.5)	11 (27.5)	40
Infectious etiology				0.046
Acanthamoeba	1 (100.0)	0 (0.0)	1
Bacterial	9 (100.0)	0 (0.0)	9
Fungal	8 (88.9)	1 (11.1)	9
Viral	15 (57.7)	11 (42.3)	26
TCM	10 (71.4)	4 (28.6)	14	0.24
History of ocular trauma	22 (81.5)	5 (18.5)	27	0.003

Abbreviation: TCM, traditional Chinese medicine.

Table 4 Traditional Chinese medicine used by patients for treating various corneal diseases

Name	Reported use	Ingredient	ROA
Jin Yin Hua (金银花)	Viral keratitis	Lonicera japonica	Oral
Yu Xing Cao (鱼腥草)	Viral keratitis	Houttuynia cordata	Oral
Qi Ju Di Huang Wan (杞菊地黄丸)	Peripheral corneal ulceration/thinning	Lycium fruit, Chrysanthemum, Rehmannia	Oral
Wu Xing Dan (五行丹)	Peripheral corneal ulceration/thinning	Sea salt, plant rosin, bamboo	Topical

Abbreviation: ROA, route of administration.