ABSTRACT w,!N{hv(
Purpose: To quantify the prevalence of cataract, the outcomes [zCKJR
of cataract surgery and the factors related to )fke;Y0
unoperated cataract in Australia. qUQP.4Z9 5
Methods: Participants were recruited from the Visual Vk1 c14i>
Impairment Project: a cluster, stratified sample of more than ExOSHKU,e
5000 Victorians aged 40 years and over. At examination iYr*0:M
sites interviews, clinical examinations and lens photography {'?PGk%v
were performed. Cataract was defined in participants who oPF
n`8dQ
had: had previous cataract surgery, cortical cataract greater xu'b@G}12
than 4/16, nuclear greater than Wilmer standard 2, or j4(f1
posterior subcapsular greater than 1 mm2. _Vt
CC/
Results: The participant group comprised 3271 Melbourne \LM{.gzT
residents, 403 Melbourne nursing home residents and 1473 ng[LSB*57Y
rural residents.The weighted rate of any cataract in Victoria ~(.&nysZ-
was 21.5%. The overall weighted rate of prior cataract S\2@~*{-8
surgery was 3.79%. Two hundred and forty-nine eyes had FJ|JXH*
had prior cataract surgery. Of these 249 procedures, 49 xl(R|D))
(20%) were aphakic, 6 (2.4%) had anterior chamber yV)9KGV+:
intraocular lenses and 194 (78%) had posterior chamber )u=a+T
intraocular lenses.Two hundred and eleven of these operated zhI"++
eyes (85%) had best-corrected visual acuity of 6/12 or L5]uT`Twa
better, the legal requirement for a driver’s license.Twentyseven 6lQP+! EF
(11%) had visual acuity of less than 6/18 (moderate 9Om3<der
vision impairment). Complications of cataract surgery 2)|G%f_lS
caused reduced vision in four of the 27 eyes (15%), or 1.9% D.w6/DxaXa
of operated eyes. Three of these four eyes had undergone [5MV$)"!j
intracapsular cataract extraction and the fourth eye had an R'B-$:u
opaque posterior capsule. No one had bilateral vision x 4`RKv2m
impairment as a result of cataract surgery. Surprisingly, no vyruUYFWe
particular demographic factors (such as age, gender, rural GrM`\MIO
residence, occupation, employment status, health insurance fRcy$
status, ethnicity) were related to the presence of unoperated Lr(My3vF8q
cataract. )p
8P\Rl
Conclusions: Although the overall prevalence of cataract is W@vCMy!
quite high, no particular subgroup is systematically underserviced WWVQJ{,}
in terms of cataract surgery. Overall, the results of %u*HNo
cataract surgery are very good, with the majority of eyes A
XPdgo6
achieving driving vision following cataract extraction. wF{M"$am
Key words: cataract extraction, health planning, health 3 E!F8GZ
services accessibility, prevalence V`"Cd?R0Z
INTRODUCTION 0@}:`OynX
Cataract is the leading cause of blindness worldwide and, in jlaC: (6
Australia, cataract extractions account for the majority of all
l\{r-F
N
ophthalmic procedures.1 Over the period 1985–94, the rate )C0 y<:</
of cataract surgery in Australia was twice as high as would be Lz`_&&6
expected from the growth in the elderly population.1 E.^F:$2
Although there have been a number of studies reporting dwUs[v
the prevalence of cataract in various populations,2–6 there is n@//d.T
little information about determinants of cataract surgery in '17V7A/t
the population. A previous survey of Australian ophthalmologists k$w#:Sx
showed that patient concern and lifestyle, rather O+ J0X*&x
than visual acuity itself, are the primary factors for referral mC!^`y)
for cataract surgery.7 This supports prior research which has c- "#
shown that visual acuity is not a strong predictor of need for JYa
3xeC;
cataract surgery.8,9 Elsewhere, socioeconomic status has $NwPGy?%
been shown to be related to cataract surgery rates.10 J?qikE&
To appropriately plan health care services, information is -}"nb-RR\
needed about the prevalence of age-related cataract in the N=c{@h
community as well as the factors associated with cataract ;Bne=vjQp
surgery. The purpose of this study is to quantify the prevalence rVDOco+w
of any cataract in Australia, to describe the factors ~5n?=
related to unoperated cataract in the community and to ~f?brQ?
describe the visual outcomes of cataract surgery. LCok4N$o
METHODS 256V
xn
Study population Z#s-(wf
Details about the study methodology for the Visual k3&
/Ei5
Impairment Project have been published previously.11 Ej$oRo{IG
Briefly, cluster sampling within three strata was employed to :<,tGYg/!
recruit subjects aged 40 years and over to participate. G PL^!_
Within the Melbourne Statistical Division, nine pairs of G Cp90
census collector districts were randomly selected. Fourteen 8D`TN8[W
nursing homes within a 5 km radius of these nine test sites ho}G]y
were randomly chosen to recruit nursing home residents. L.%zs
Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology (2000) 28, 77–82 j&