Incidence and ocular comorbidities of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment among younger people in Taiwan

Objectives: The ocular incidence rate and comorbidities of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) in young groups were analyzed. Methods: This retrospective study was population-based and data were analyzed using the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000. The ages of the subjects included in the young RRD group ranged from 0 years to 44 years. The annual incidence rate was calculated by dividing the number of new cases by the population size of individuals with health insurance coverage. Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to analyze the comorbidities. Results: From 2001 to 2010, the incidence rate of RRD for individuals under 45 years of age in Taiwan was 16.4 per 100,000. The young female group, aged 25-29 years, peaked first at 23.0 per 100,000, whereas the young male group, aged 40-44 years, increased continually and peaked at 28.3 per 100,000. The young RRD group was highly comorbid with some diseases and statistically more associated with high myopia (OR 7.38, 95% CI 3.97-13.72) than the young non-RRD group. Other pathological changes in the young RRD group were vitreous hemorrhage (OR 72.57, 95% CI: 9.93-530.55) and lattice degeneration (OR 5.11, 95% CI: 2.44-10.67) as compared with young non-RRD subjects. Conclusions: The young population of Taiwan shows high number of RRD cases dominated by males. The co-morbid analysis of high myopia and pathological changes of retinal degeneration can provide references for RRD prevention in young residents.