Clinical Profile and Demographic Distribution of Corneal Dystrophies in India: A Study of 4198 Patients

Purpose: To describe the clinical profile and demographic distribution of corneal dystrophy in patients presenting to a multitier ophthalmology hospital network in India. Methods: This cross-sectional hospital-based study included 2,151,584 new patients presenting between March 2012 and December 2019 (similar to 8 year period). Patients with a clinical diagnosis of corneal dystrophy in at least 1 eye were included as cases. The data were collected by using an electronic medical record system. Results: Overall, 4198 new patients (0.20%) were diagnosed with corneal dystrophy. The prevalence rates were 0.19% in children (age < 16 years) and 0.20% in adults. Most patients were women (51.86%). The mean age of the patients was 43.61 +/- 21.39 years. Most patients (18.79%) were between 61 and 70 years of age. The most common anatomical location of the dystrophy was endothelium (51.71%), followed by stroma (43.55%) and Bowman membrane/epithelium (4.73%). The most common corneal dystrophy was Fuch endothelial corneal dystrophy (41.89%). Most eyes had mild or no visual impairment (43.43%). Of the 8193 eyes, 998 eyes (12.18%) underwent a corneal surgery. Among those who underwent surgical intervention, endothelial keratoplasty was the most commonly performed surgical procedure (52%), followed by penetrating keratoplasty (22%). Conclusions: Corneal dystrophy is a rare disease, affecting patients seeking eye care in India. Endothelial dystrophies were the most common, followed by stromal dystrophies. Among the stromal dystrophies, macular dystrophy was the most common. At initial presentation, visual impairment was mild to moderate in most patients, and surgical intervention was needed in 12.18% of the eyes during the study period.