Prevalence of cataract in rural Indonesia

Abstract

Purpose: To describe the prevalence of cataract in adults in rural Sumatra, Indonesia. Design: Population-based cross-sectional study. Participants: A random sample of all adults aged 21 years or older living in 3 rural villages in central Sumatra was assessed. Nine hundred nineteen of 1089 (84.4%) eligible adults participated. Methods: A team of 7 ophthalmologists examined the anterior segment of both eyes using a portable slit lamp after pupil dilatation. Lens opacity was graded according to the Lens Opacities Classification System III (LOCS III). A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on education level and income. Main Outcome Measures: Cataract was defined as either a LOCS III nuclear region score of ≥4.0, cortical ≥4.0, or posterior subcapsular (PSC) cataract ≥2.0, in either eye. Results: Two hundred one (21.9%) of 919 subjects were found to have cataract. The age-adjusted prevalence rate of cataract (including cataract surgery) was 23.0% (95% confidence interval, 20.8-25.2). The most common type of cataract for both genders (adjusted for age) was mixed (13%) followed by nuclear only (5.7%), and cortical only (4%). The prevalence rate of any cataract for adults aged 21 to 29 was 1.1%, increasing to 82.8% for those aged older than 60 years. Similar trends with age were noted for nuclear, cortical, and PSC cataract. Women had higher prevalence rates than men for all types of cataract except cortical. There was a trend of increasing prevalence of all types of cataract with decreasing education (P