Profile of cataract surgery in Varamin Iran: a population-based study.
BACKGROUND
Cataract is the most popular cause of blindness. This study addresses some aspects of cataract surgery in an Iranian population.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study.


METHODS
3000 adults over 50 in Varamin district.


METHODS
Cataract surgical coverage was defined as the proportion of (pseudo) aphakic eyes of all operable and operated eyes with cataract. If there was obvious lens opacity in either or both eyes in combination with best corrected visual acuity less than 6/18, the person was asked why the operation for cataract was not done to find out about barriers of cataract surgery. Outcomes of cataract surgery were categorized as good, intermediate and poor using presenting visual acuity which were defined as visual acuity ≥ 6/18, 6/60 ≤ visual acuity < 6/18 and visual acuity < 6/60, respectively.


METHODS
Cataract surgical coverage, barriers and outcomes of cataract surgery.


RESULTS
Out of 5638 examined eyes, 526 eyes (9.3%) had history of cataract surgery. 156 subjects (45.7%) had a unilateral and 185 subjects (54.2%) had bilateral operated eyes. Cataract surgical coverage was 66.4% in visually impaired eyes (visual acuity < 6/18), 90.4% in blind eyes (visual acuity < 3/60), 80.5% in visually impaired persons and 97.6% in blind persons. Cataract surgery in the majority of eyes (71.9%) had a good visual outcome. The main barrier of cataract surgery was unawareness of treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Overall, the cataract services in the studied population were acceptable, although it should be improved, to achieve vision 2020 objectives.
Ophthalmic Research Centre, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Marzieh
M
Katibeh
Hossein
H
Ziaei
Zhaleh
Z
Rajavi
Sara
S
Hosseini
Mohammad-Ali
MA
Javadi
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001766:Blindness / Q000517:prevention & control; D002386:Cataract / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002387:Cataract Extraction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D019654:Lens Implantation, Intraocular / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology; D019987:Persons with Visual Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
blindness; cataract; surgery