Objectives: To investigate the mechanism of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) in young and elderly Korean patients based on the results of axial length distribution.
Subjects/methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 1599 patients with RRD who had bilateral axial length data examined at one center between 2003 and 2018. Axial lengths were measured using ultrasound or IOLMaster500. The frequency of RRD and axial length distribution according to age groups were investigated.
Results: Patients with RRD displayed a bimodal distribution across ages with two age groups showing the highest peak at 55-59 years and a second peak at 25-29 years of age. The mean axial length was significantly longer in patients younger than 50 years old than that in patients ≥ 50 years old (26.18 ± 1.86 mm vs. 24.55 ± 1.67 mm, respectively, p < 0.001). The percentage of patients with high myopia (axial length ≥ 26 mm) in patients < 50 years old was higher than that in those ≥ 50 years old (51.9% vs. 15.0%, respectively, p < 0.001; odds ratio, 6.11; 95% confidence interval, 4.83 to 7.74).
Conclusions: We found a difference in the prevalence of myopia between young and elderly patients with RRD, which corresponds to a bimodal distribution of RRD incidence in East Asian countries. Our data indicate that myopia or high myopia-induced early vitreous detachment appears to be a major mechanism of occurrence of RRD in young East Asian patients, while senile vitreous liquefaction and detachment is the main mechanism of RRD in elderly patients.