Cataracts among Adults Aged 30 to 49 Years: A 10-Year Study from 1995 to 2004 in Korea

PURPOSE: To investigate the long-term characteristics of cataracts among adults aged 30 to 49 years in Korean over a span of 10 years. METHODS: Subjects between the ages of 30 to 49 years who underwent cataract surgery at St. Mary's Hospital from 1995 to 2004 (n = 976) were included. Patients with a history of ocular trauma, uveitis, other ocular or systemic diseases, and congenital cataracts were excluded. Additional information including type of lens opacity, urban/rural region, and pre- and postoperative visual acuities were analyzed. Lens opacity grading was conducted using Lens Opacity Classification System III. The Cochran-Armitage proportion trend test was used to analyze vision changes with the passage of time. RESULTS: Among the patients who had undergone cataract surgeries, 8.8% (976 / 11,111) met the inclusion criteria. The mean age was 41.7 +/- 5.45 years. Gender breakdown of the patient population included 79.0% male and 21.0% female. In terms of home environment, 60.9% were from an urban region and 39.1% from a rural region. Opacity type included anterior polar (AP), posterior subcapsular (PSC), AP and PSC, cortical, and nuclear in 35.7%, 35.1%, 7.0%, 6.0%, and 5.4% of patients, respectively. At a 2-month postoperative follow-up appointment, 92.7% of patients showed a best-corrected visual acuity of more than 20 / 40. CONCLUSIONS: Predominance of AP and PSC opacities as well as male patients was observed in this study population.

An Epidemiological Study for Relationship Between Risk Factors and Types of Cataract

The epidemiological study to evaluate the risk factors and types of cataract was performed in 183 cataract patients who received cataract operation in Chung-Ang University Hospital and in 80 control patients from March 1992 to Febraury 1994. Our study revealed that the sun light exposure and smoking were related to nuclear opacity, and drinking and smoking were related to cortical opacity. Also anterior subcortical opacity was more common in patients with heart disease. And the long term use of steroid and patient with diabetes mellitus were risk factors of posterior subcapsular opacity cataractogenesis. In this study we could confirm some risk factors were closely related to the type of lens opacity.