Prevalence and risk factors associated with dry eye disease among adults in a population-based setting in South-West Nigeria.

Background: Dry eye disease (DED) occurs as a result of an abnormality in tear production, tear consistency, and tear evaporation. Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with dry eye disease in a population-based setting in Southwest Nigeria. Patient and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at a medical outreach at Iperu Remo in Nigeria. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select 415 participants. Symptoms of dry eye were evaluated using the Ocular Surface Disease Index questionnaire. Tear film break-up time (TBUT), fluorescein staining, Schirmer test with anesthesia, and meibomian gland were evaluated. The diagnosis of DED was confirmed when the OSDI score is ≥13 and TBUT is less than 10 seconds. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square, and logistic regression analyses at a 0.05 level of significance. Results: The overall prevalence of DED was 28.2%. Adults aged between 31 and 40 years were 23 times more likely to be diagnosed with dry eyes (aOR = 23.13; 95% CI: 1.32 - 405.99; P = 0.032) compared to those between 16 and 20 years. Female adults were about four times more likely to be diagnosed with dry eyes (aOR = 3.59; 95% CI: 1.44 - 8.94; P = 0.006). The use of drugs was also significantly associated with dry eyes. Conclusion: This study shows a fairly high prevalence of DED among adults in a semi-urban area in Southwest Nigeria. Ophthalmologists and other eye care workers need to be cautious about the DED and offer appropriate treatment options to patients.

Psychosocial Wellbeing of Nigerian Teachers in Special Education Schools.

While there is evidence that impaired psychosocial wellbeing can compromise the effective performance of work-related roles, little is known about the wellbeing of teachers working with children with developmental disabilities. We interviewed 68 special education schoolteachers (response rate = 70.8%) in a Nigerian state with 12-item General Health Questionnaire and an adapted Zarit Burden Interview. About four in every ten teachers had psychological distress, representing many-fold the rates reported in the general population, and significant burden was prevalent in 51.5%. Perceived burden correlated significantly with psychological distress, anxiety/depression and social dysfunction (rs = .3). While increased burden predicted psychological distress, longer teaching experience was protective against distress. These findings underscore the need for psychosocial support for special education schoolteachers to enhance their wellbeing and roles.

Normative Ocular Biometric Dimensions and its Variation in a Nigerian Population.

BACKGROUND: The increasing need for high precision in different aspects of clinical and diagnostic ophthalmology calls for a knowledge of the normative ocular biometric parameters. Since this may be affected by race, it is thus important to obtain more information in an effort to determine the African values.The main objective of this study is to determine the normal ocular biometric dimensions and their variation with age in a south western Nigerian population. STUDY DESIGN: A population-based descriptive cross-sectional study carried out in Sagamu Local Area of Ogun State, Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHOD: A multi-staged cluster random sampling technique was used to select eligible participants who underwent ocular biometry between July and October 2010. RESULTS: Three hundred and two respondents aged 18 years and above underwent A-scanography and keratometry. The mean axial length, anterior chamber depth, lens thickness, vitreous chamber depth and cornea power were 23.31±0.91mm, 3.13±0.40mm, 4.15±0.46mm, 16.01±0.91mm and 43.77±1.33D respectively. Axial length, lens thickness and vitreous chamber depth demonstrated a significant positive increase with age while anterior chamber depth and cornea power decreased with age. CONCLUSION: Ocular biometric values in adults of South Western Nigeria were comparable to previous documentations and had significant variation with age.

Clinico-pathological study of female genital malignancies in Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria.

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the pattern and frequency of female genital malignancies among the different age groups, the common presenting complaints of cervical cancer patients and stages of presentation as seen in Sagamu, Ogun State. METHODOLOGY: A retrospective analysis of reports of formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue blocks and slides of all female genital samples received at Morbid Anatomy & Histopathology Department of Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu from January 1st, 2003 to June 30th, 2012. The personal data and clinical history were retrieved from laboratory forms and the patients' case files. RESULTS: The age range of patients whose specimens were reviewed was between 21-85 years. Cancers of the cervix accounted for majority (65.1%) of the cases followed by ovarian cancer (23.2%) and cancer involving the uterus (10.5%). Sixty-six percent of the cervical cancer patients are 50 years and above. Majority of the cervical cancer cases (82.2%) were squamous cell carcinoma. The common clinical features were post-menopausal bleeding (53.3%), vaginal discharge (43.3%), and intermenstrual bleeding (16.7%). The interval between onset of symptoms and seeking of healthcare was 6.7 ± 3.66 months. Stage IIIB cervical cancer was seen in 40% of the cervical cancer patients analyzed while no case of Stage IA was seen. Ninety-three percent of these patients were referred for radiotherapy. CONCLUSION: Cancer of the cervix is the commonest gynaecological malignancy and most patients presented late. Free or government subsidized cervical cancer screening programmes and awareness campaign is highly recommended.

Visual acuity of commercial motor drivers in Ogun State of Nigeria.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To objectively assess the visual acuity of commercial motor drivers (CMD) in 3 Local Government Areas (LGA) of Ogun State of Nigeria in order to determine their eligibility to drive. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The visual acuities of CMDs in 3 LGAS of Ogun state in Nigeria (selected using a multistage sampling technique) were tested with Snellens acuity charts and the eyes examined with bright pen torches and ophthamoscopes. Visual acuity 6/12 or better in the worse eye was taken as adequate to obtain a driving license. The drivers with worse visual acuities were further examined to find the cause of decreased vision. RESULTS: The visual acuities of 524 drivers were determined and analyzed. Their ages ranged from 19-66 years with a mean of 46.8 ±7.2 years. Two hundred and twenty (41.9%) of the drivers were between 40 and 49 years old. Four hundred and four (77.1%) did not have any form of eye test prior to this study. Four hundred and sixty three drivers (88.4%) were eligible to drive while 61 drivers (11.6%) were not eligible. Decreased visual acuity was caused by refractive error in 22(36.1%), cataract in 19(31.2%), glaucoma in 12(19.7%), corneal scar in 5(8.2%) and posterior segment lesions in 3(4.9%). CONCLUSION: Objective assessment of vision should be an essential component of licensure. Middle aged and elderly drivers are prone to age related ocular diseases and require reassessment of visual status every 3 years when licenses are renewed.

Microbial isolates and HIV infection in couples attending fertility clinics in Sagamu, Nigeria.

This observational study was designed to determine the prevalence of HIV infection and the microbial isolates from the genital tracts of couples attending the fertility clinics of Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria between January 2001 and December 2002. A total of 110 women and 49 of their male partners were recruited into the study. The majority of the patients were between 25 and 34 years (women: 71.8%; partners: 65.3%), though the men were significantly older than the women (p < 0.001). The overall prevalence of HIV infection in those who consented to screening was 8.2%, which was over twice the reported prevalence among the general population in Ogun State, Nigeria during the study period. Candida albicans (32.5%) and Staphylococcus aureus (27.5%) were the most frequently isolated microorganisms from the endocervix while Trichomonas vaginalis (37.9%) and Staphylococcus aureus (24.1%) were the most common microbes isolated from the posterior vaginal fornix. Of all the seminal qualities, only the volume showed a significant difference between the infected and non-infected samples (p < 0.004). This study suggests a higher prevalence of HIV infection among the infertile couples in our environment and it may be advisable to have them screened for HIV in the face of the present HIV situation in sub-Saharan Africa.