Abstract

Purpose: To determine the prevalence and associated risk factors for keratoconus (KC) in the Saudi population.

Methods: Cross-sectional study enrolled Saudi subjects between the ages of 20 - 40 who randomly participated at a mall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in December 2018. Volunteers were excluded if they had corneal or ocular pathology other than KC, a history of ocular surgery or trauma and contact lenses wear within 7 days of data collection. All subjects underwent bilateral corneal topography and auto-refraction. Keratoconus was defined and staged based on the Amsler-Krumeich criteria by two cornea specialists. Statistical analysis was performed to determine an association of KC with age, gender, and geographic location. A P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: A total of 400 individuals (768 eyes) with a mean age of 29 ± 5.8 years were included. More than half of the volunteers were females 260 (65%). Forty-six individuals had keratoconus indicating a prevalence of 9.89%. KC was significantly associated with a positive family history of the disease (P < 0.0001). The highest distribution of KC was in the central region (55.6%) followed by the southern region (24.4%).

Conclusion: The prevalence of keratoconus in Saudi Arabia was higher than other parts of the world. This may be associated with a combination of genetic and environmental factors and improved diagnostic methods. This study highlights the need for public health outreach programs to include screening and early intervention to manage visual disability due to keratoconus.

Keywords: Keratoconus (KC); Corneal Collagen Cross-Linking (CXL); PKP

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