BioMed Central
Lt+ Cm$3 Page 1 of 7
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*.0}3 BMC Ophthalmology
u%<Je Research article Open Access
K14e"w%6rs Comparison of age-specific cataract prevalence in two
\`\& G-\ population-based surveys 6 years apart
P%A^TD| Ava Grace Tan†, Jie Jin Wang*†, Elena Rochtchina† and Paul Mitchell†
_ji"##K Address: Centre for Vision Research, Westmead Millennium Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Sydney, Westmead Hospital,
|*5K fxq Westmead, NSW, Australia
Xm./XC Email: Ava Grace Tan -
ava_tan@wmi.usyd.edu.au; Jie Jin Wang* -
jiejin_wang@wmi.usyd.edu.au;
=B
g Elena Rochtchina -
elena_rochtchina@wmi.usyd.edu.au; Paul Mitchell -
paul_mitchell@wmi.usyd.edu.au Y<0;;tVf4U * Corresponding author †Equal contributors
\kU0D Abstract
l2"{uCcA Background: In this study, we aimed to compare age-specific cortical, nuclear and posterior
oa(R,{_*q subcapsular (PSC) cataract prevalence in two surveys 6 years apart.
fr$E'+l) Methods: The Blue Mountains Eye Study examined 3654 participants (82.4% of those eligible) in
#Hl0>"k
, cross-section I (1992–4) and 3509 participants (75.1% of survivors and 85.2% of newly eligible) in
nFU'DZ cross-section II (1997–2000, 66.5% overlap with cross-section I). Cataract was assessed from lens
/E F0~iy photographs following the Wisconsin Cataract Grading System. Cortical cataract was defined if
G.Z:00x cortical opacity comprised ≥ 5% of lens area. Nuclear cataract was defined if nuclear opacity ≥
K' xN>qc Wisconsin standard 4. PSC was defined if any present. Any cataract was defined to include persons
q(sEN!^L` who had previous cataract surgery. Weighted kappa for inter-grader reliability was 0.82, 0.55 and
yOwo(+
2 0.82 for cortical, nuclear and PSC cataract, respectively. We assessed age-specific prevalence using
%UDz4?zx an interval of 5 years, so that participants within each age group were independent between the
egMl(~D two surveys.
2Fk4jHj Results: Age and gender distributions were similar between the two populations. The age-specific
qPeaSv]W prevalence of cortical (23.8% in 1st, 23.7% in 2nd) and PSC cataract (6.3%, 6.0%) was similar. The
e P]L prevalence of nuclear cataract increased slightly from 18.7% to 23.9%. After age standardization,
yd#SB) & the similar prevalence of cortical (23.8%, 23.5%) and PSC cataract (6.3%, 5.9%), and the increased
Y5nj _xQJL prevalence of nuclear cataract (18.7%, 24.2%) remained.
&[u%ZL Conclusion: In two surveys of two population-based samples with similar age and gender
IE7%u92 distributions, we found a relatively stable cortical and PSC cataract prevalence over a 6-year period.
W^{zlg The increased prevalence of nuclear cataract deserves further study.
)Il)
H Background
4D+S\S0bk Age-related cataract is the leading cause of reversible visual
1t&LNIc|^ impairment in older persons [1-6]. In Australia, it is
4&b*|"Iw estimated that by the year 2021, the number of people
=-wF Brw affected by cataract will increase by 63%, due to population
NWnUXR aging [7]. Surgical intervention is an effective treatment
SU>2MT^
for cataract and normal vision (> 20/40) can usually
(QS4<J" be restored with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation.
Z:>)5Z{' Cataract surgery with IOL implantation is currently the
\ZNUt$\ most commonly performed, and is, arguably, the most
UAleGR`, cost effective surgical procedure worldwide. Performance
kAc8[Hn Published: 20 April 2006
D,R"P }G BMC Ophthalmology 2006, 6:17 doi:10.1186/1471-2415-6-17
MZJ@qIg[Y Received: 14 December 2005
TS2zzYE6Z Accepted: 20 April 2006
) W,tL*9[ This article is available from:
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2415/6/17 .J=<E © 2006 Tan et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
iO$Z?Dyg9 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0),
olA 1,8 which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
%=w@c BMC Ophthalmology 2006, 6:17
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prypo.RI (page number not for citation purposes)
\S5YS2,P of this surgical procedure has been continuously increasing
-_`dA^ in the last two decades. Data from the Australian
<GdQ""X Health Insurance Commission has shown a steady
yj<j>JtN increase in Medicare claims for cataract surgery [8]. A 2.6-
}#cFr)4f fold increase in the total number of cataract procedures
G q&[T: from 1985 to 1994 has been documented in Australia [9].
-F->l5
The rate of cataract surgery per thousand persons aged 65
v35!?
5{ years or older has doubled in the last 20 years [8,9]. In the
bM@8[&ta Blue Mountains Eye Study population, we observed a onethird
!3*:6 increase in cataract surgery prevalence over a mean
P<E!ix 6-year interval, from 6% to nearly 8% in two cross-sectional
]=ubl!0=: population-based samples with a similar age range
m)\wbkC [10]. Further increases in cataract surgery performance
.\rJ|HpZ1J would be expected as a result of improved surgical skills
=w,cdU* and technique, together with extending cataract surgical
+$CO benefits to a greater number of older people and an
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