Gender and cataract surgery in Sweden 1992-1997. A retrospective observational study based on the Swedish National Cataract Register.
OBJECTIVE
To study the gender difference in total utilisation of cataract surgery in Sweden during the years 1992-1997.


METHODS
The study is based on data from the National Swedish Cataract Register which covers about 95% of all cataract operations performed in Sweden during the study period.


RESULTS
Utilisation of cataract surgery in Sweden was significantly higher in females than in males for all age groups between 50 and 89 years of age during the period 1992-1997. This gender difference was more pronounced for second eye surgery than first eye surgery in most age groups. The gender difference varied also depending on the pre-operative visual acuity.


CONCLUSIONS
The cataract surgery rate was significantly higher for females compared to males during the study period. Three hypotheses to explain the gender difference are discussed.
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002386:Cataract / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002387:Cataract Extraction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012042:Registries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012306:Risk; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D014792:Visual Acuity