LAUSR

The association of primary angle‐closure disease (PACD) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is debatable. Various reports have shown that PACD occurs more commonly in RP patients than the general population. However, the mechanism of the association is poorly understood. The prevalence of PACD in the general population of India is highly variable, according to various surveys. The Vellore Eye Survey, India’s first population‐based glaucoma prevalence study, reported that 10.3% of the population between 30 and 60 years of age had occludable angles, that is, all PACD including primary angle‐closure suspect (PACS), primary angle closure (PAC), and primary angle‐closure glaucoma (PACG).[1] The Aravind Comprehensive Eye Survey reported that the prevalence of PACG in those over 40 years of age in rural south India was only 0.5%.[2] The wide differences in prevalence have been attributed to differences in the diagnostic criteria and varying gonioscopic techniques. However in all of the surveys, the incidence of PACS was much more than PAC and PACG. In the currently published study, PACG seems to account for a significant proportion of PACD. The study notes that 5.9% of RP patients over 10 years of age had some form of PACD. More importantly, they found that the prevalence of PACG in RP patients over 40 years (3.8%) was higher than that in the general population.[3]