Gender and referral to cataract surgery in Sweden.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate how cataract surgery was initiated and analyse possible gender difference in referral to surgery.


METHODS
Consecutive patients scheduled for first eye cataract surgery at three Swedish community-run eye departments were interviewed concerning how surgery was initiated.


RESULTS
649 patients were interviewed and 63.2% were female. The number of patients referred to surgery by an earlier contact with a health care provider was 271 (41.8%) and the remaining 378 (58.2%) patients had actively requested advice or help because of visual problems caused by cataract and without a prior regular contact. 44.7% of female patients were referred through a health care provider they visited for reasons other than cataract and the corresponding number for male patients was 36.8%. This gender difference is statistically significant at the 5% level.


CONCLUSIONS
A health care provider that patients visited for other problems than cataract referred female patients to cataract surgery to a significantly higher degree than male patients.
Olofsson
P
P
Dept. of Ophthalmology, Sahlgren's University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden.
Lundström
M
M
Stenevi
U
U
D002387:Cataract Extraction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden; D014792:Visual Acuity