Keratoconus prevalence: Much more common than previously thought
Previously, the frequency of keratoconus was most commonly reported to be 1 in 2,000, a value based on a registration study in Olmsted County, Minnesota, conducted 1935-1982; the study reported a prevalence of 54.5 per 100,000 cases. As advancement in technologies such as corneal topography led the way for earlier detection of subclinical cases, the prevalence of keratoconus was then found to be much, much more common. An epidemiological study conducted via data extraction from the largest health insurance provider in the Netherlands concluded that keratoconus among the age group of 10-40 years, the annual incidence of the disease was 1:7500 (13.3 cases per 100,000) and the estimated prevalence was 1:375 (265 cases per 100,000). These values are 5 to 10-fold higher than previously documented. Wow!
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