Dr. Diva Kant Misra

What are the risk factors and causes?

A person’s risk of developing an ERM increases with age, and people with an existing eye or vision condition may develop an ERM before age 50.

Eye conditions that put a person at risk for developing an ERM are:

• Posterior vitreous detachment: Separating of the gel that fills the back of the eye to the retina.
• Retinal tear or detachment: A retinal tear is a break in the retina whereas retinal detachment occurs when the retina pulls away from the back of the eye.
• Injuries: Eye injuries or traumas can cause ERMs.
• Surgery: Eye surgeries, such as cataract surgery, can cause ERMs.
• Retinal vascular diseases: Conditions affecting the blood vessels in the eyes, such as diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy can affect people with diabetes
• Existing ERM: Having an ERM in one eye means a higher likelihood of getting them in the other eye too.

Having risk factors for ERMs does not guarantee that someone will develop this condition in one eye or both. Also, someone who does not have any risk factors could develop an ERM.

Who gets ERMs?

According to the ASRS, men and women are equally affected by ERMs, but at least one medical journal disagrees. A research study reported in the journal, BMJ Open, finds women are more often affected by ERMs than men.

It is also possible people of particular races are more affected by this condition than others. For example, the BMJ reported that 39 percent of people affected by this condition were of Chinese descent, 27.5 percent were Caucasian, 26.2 percent were African, and 29.3 percent were Hispanic.