A nationwide study on the incidence of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment in Denmark, with emphasis on the risk of the fellow eye

PURPOSE: To estimate the risk of developing rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) in the fellow eye in patients with RRD in the first eye and to identify potential risk factors.

METHODS: We used the Danish National Patient Registry to identify all surgeries performed for RRD in Denmark in the period from January 2000 to July 2011.

RESULTS: In 11,451 cases of RRD in the study period, 8,553 cases in 8,081 patients were identified as primary RRD with an annual incidence of 13.7 per 100,000 citizens. There was a significant increase in the number of cases with RRD during the study period that was mainly explained by an increase of cataract surgeries. Four hundred and seventy-one of 7,941 patients with primary RRD on one eye and no other previous eye disease developed an additional RRD in the fellow eye with an overall incidence of 1% per year. Cox analysis revealed male gender, surgery on the lens, and young age as significant risk factors (P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION: Patients with RRD on the first eye have a 100 times greater risk of developing RRD on the second eye, and the risk increases with male gender and surgery on the lens but decreases with age.