Introduction: This study highlights the key epidemiological findings from the Singapore Malay Eye Study (SiMES-1).
Methods: SiMES-1 was a cross-sectional, population-based epidemiological study on eye diseases. It was performed on 3,280 randomly selected Malay adults living in the south-western part of Singapore. All study participants underwent various validated questionnaires and detailed eye examinations. A review of all papers published from SiMES-1 was performed.
Results: A total of 24.6% of the study population had myopia, while 35.3% had hyperopia and 39.4% had astigmatism. 20.4% of the population had under-corrected refractive error. 1,338 (45.7%) participants were diagnosed to have cataracts in at least one eye. 8.6% of the study population had undergone cataract surgery in either eye, while 4.7% had bilateral cataract surgery. 150 (4.6%) participants were diagnosed to have glaucoma, of which primary open angle glaucoma was the most common type (3.2% of the study population), followed by secondary glaucoma (0.8%) and primary angle closure glaucoma (0.2%). Pterygium was diagnosed in 508 out of 3,266 study participants, giving a prevalence rate of 15.6%. The presence of diabetic retinopathy was observed in 421 (12.9%) out of 3,265 study participants. 183 (5.6%) study participants had some degree of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), of which 23 (0.7%) were classified as having late AMD.
Conclusion: This paper provides a summary of the prevalence of common eye diseases among the Singaporean adult Malay population and provides data useful for public health education and disease prevention.