ABSTRACT t}MT<Jj
Purpose: To quantify the prevalence of cataract, the outcomes 7|Iq4@IT
of cataract surgery and the factors related to 1^[]#N-Bu
unoperated cataract in Australia. {UF|-VaG
Methods: Participants were recruited from the Visual Zm(}~C29
Impairment Project: a cluster, stratified sample of more than V#c=O}
5000 Victorians aged 40 years and over. At examination ie7TO{W
sites interviews, clinical examinations and lens photography \lyHQ-gWhc
were performed. Cataract was defined in participants who 4 XGEw9`3
had: had previous cataract surgery, cortical cataract greater vkW;qt}yO
than 4/16, nuclear greater than Wilmer standard 2, or 6\%#=GG
posterior subcapsular greater than 1 mm2. @[n%q.|VB
Results: The participant group comprised 3271 Melbourne QqcAmp
residents, 403 Melbourne nursing home residents and 1473 Yi19VU|/
rural residents.The weighted rate of any cataract in Victoria 3ZvQUH/{W
was 21.5%. The overall weighted rate of prior cataract d ;,C[&
surgery was 3.79%. Two hundred and forty-nine eyes had 6c}nP[6|
had prior cataract surgery. Of these 249 procedures, 49 s5X51#J#~
(20%) were aphakic, 6 (2.4%) had anterior chamber cl M6R
intraocular lenses and 194 (78%) had posterior chamber NI C.c3
intraocular lenses.Two hundred and eleven of these operated t3!~=U
eyes (85%) had best-corrected visual acuity of 6/12 or <u
better, the legal requirement for a driver’s license.Twentyseven ESe$6)P
(11%) had visual acuity of less than 6/18 (moderate gpCWX
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vision impairment). Complications of cataract surgery 7qdB
caused reduced vision in four of the 27 eyes (15%), or 1.9% 4=|oOIhgb
of operated eyes. Three of these four eyes had undergone Tb]
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intracapsular cataract extraction and the fourth eye had an msw=x0{n5
opaque posterior capsule. No one had bilateral vision |;YDRI
impairment as a result of cataract surgery. Surprisingly, no |lVi* 4za%
particular demographic factors (such as age, gender, rural =':B
residence, occupation, employment status, health insurance }w)wW1&
status, ethnicity) were related to the presence of unoperated t<+g
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cataract. =DI/|^j{;
Conclusions: Although the overall prevalence of cataract is 2JHV*/Q
quite high, no particular subgroup is systematically underserviced mEV@~){
in terms of cataract surgery. Overall, the results of SqoO
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cataract surgery are very good, with the majority of eyes ?6:e%YT
achieving driving vision following cataract extraction. Wix4se1Ac
Key words: cataract extraction, health planning, health tCu9
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services accessibility, prevalence S#\Cyn2(t
INTRODUCTION
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Cataract is the leading cause of blindness worldwide and, in H8!lSRq
Australia, cataract extractions account for the majority of all '^.3}N{Fo
ophthalmic procedures.1 Over the period 1985–94, the rate dewN\
of cataract surgery in Australia was twice as high as would be w.Go]dpK
expected from the growth in the elderly population.1 T?D]]x
Although there have been a number of studies reporting vz)zl2F5sY
the prevalence of cataract in various populations,2–6 there is a,[NcdG
little information about determinants of cataract surgery in {CGk9
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the population. A previous survey of Australian ophthalmologists 9NqZ&S
showed that patient concern and lifestyle, rather GUsJF;;V
than visual acuity itself, are the primary factors for referral Qy) -gax:,
for cataract surgery.7 This supports prior research which has ,f[Oy:fr
shown that visual acuity is not a strong predictor of need for <rNz&;m}
cataract surgery.8,9 Elsewhere, socioeconomic status has kfy|3KA3m
been shown to be related to cataract surgery rates.10 *BQy$dfE
To appropriately plan health care services, information is 4pFoSs?\
needed about the prevalence of age-related cataract in the iMp_1EXe
community as well as the factors associated with cataract ]#J-itO
surgery. The purpose of this study is to quantify the prevalence VqdR
of any cataract in Australia, to describe the factors r7*'s
related to unoperated cataract in the community and to qApf\o3[0
describe the visual outcomes of cataract surgery. NQ\<~a`Eq
METHODS Y!_e,]GW
Study population ,}$[;$ye
Details about the study methodology for the Visual x]|-2t
Impairment Project have been published previously.11 2r#W#z%vS
Briefly, cluster sampling within three strata was employed to fb|lWEw5h.
recruit subjects aged 40 years and over to participate.
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