Prevalence and Factors Associated with Raised Intraocular Pressure among Hypertensive Patients—A Hospital-Based Study, Uganda

Background: Raised intraocular pressure (IOP) is a major risk factor for glaucoma. Hypertensive patients are at a risk of developing and progression of Open Angle Glaucoma (OAG) which is a major cause of blindness in the world. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of raised IOP and associated factors among hypertensive patients attending the hypertension clinic at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Uganda. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2018 to March 2019. Our sample comprised hypertensive patients recruited after obtaining consent. Participants were sampled consecutively and underwent both a general medical and ocular examination. A questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics, ocular and medical factors. Data were entered into the computer using the statistical data package of Epidata version 3.1 and exported to STATA version 14 for analysis. Results: Of the 405 hypertensive study participants, mean age was 57.1 years (range 25 to 90 years, SD = 12.4 years). The overall prevalence of raised intraocular pressure was 11.6% (95% CI 8.8 - 15.1). The mean IOP among all participants was 15.2 mmHg (SD = 4.3) with a range of 3 - 34 mmHg. The factors with a statistically significant association with raised intraocular pressure after multivariate analysis were a positive family history of Glaucoma (OR 57, CI 10.33 - 315.34, P < 0.001) and Eye trauma (OR 7.84, CI 1.02 - 60.02 P = 0.047). Conclusions: The prevalence of raised intraocular pressure among hypertensive patients attending the hypertension clinic in Mulago National Referral hospital, Uganda was found to be high.