Hypertensive retinopathy in a Nigerian community

ABSTRACT

This study was designed to determine the prevalence of hypertensive retinopathy amongst hypertensives presenting to the medical outpatient department of Federal Medical Centre,Owo,Ondo State,Nigeria. The study was conducted between September 2007 and January 2008.One hundred consenting hypertensives were interviewed by the authors using a semi-structured questionnaire. All the respondents had fundoscopy by a direct ophthalmoscope to establish the presence of hypertensive retinopathy. The data obtained was collated and analyzed with SPSS 12.0.1 statistical soft ware version. Few respondents [11%] had hypertensive retinopathy of varying degrees, 6% had grade 3 hypertensive retinopathy, 4% had grade 1 hypertensive retinopathy and 1% had grade 4 hypertensive retinopathy. Fifty-five percent of the respondents had good blood pressure control, 35% had fair blood pressure control and 10% had poor blood pressure control. Hypertensive retinopathy occurred in only 11% of patients and more than half of them were of grade 3. Blood pressure control affected the prevalence of hypertensive retinopathy, however, the differences amongst the different groups were not satistically significant. There is need to ensure that hypertensives have regular ocular examination. Physicians should ensure optimal blood pressure control in hypertensive patients so as to prevent target organ damage