Pseudoexfoliation Syndrome: A Comparative Study of Prevalence among the Gurungs of High Altitude and Low Lands and Gurungs versus Tamangs and Sherpas

Abstract

Background: As per recently available data from a community survey of Pseudoexfoliation syndrome it was found that Gurungs were affected more frequently than other ethnic groups. The question that arose was whether Gurungs are at higher risk of developing Pseudoexfoliation by virtue of them being Gurung or by living at higher altitude needed to be answered. Furthermore whether only Gurungs or other ethnic people similar to Gurungs are also affected by disease needed to be addressed. To address these issues, a community base survey was thus conducted. Methods: This survey followed a descriptive, cross-sectional community based design. A total of 1400 individuals who were 30 years or above were enrolled using convenience sampling. Results: The survey showed that pseudoexfoliation syndrome irrespective of where they lived affected all Gurungs. Amost 8% of Gurungs were affected by this disease. This disease did not affect Sherpas and 0.3% of Tamangs did have pasudoexfoliation. Conclusions: Pseudoexfoliation syndrome is more prevalent among Gurungs than any other ethnic groups. Being Gurung ia a risk factor for the development of this disease, it is not the altitude that determines the risk.