Abstract
Purpose :
To provide estimates of the prevalence of visually significant cataracts (VSC) and unmet need for cataract surgery (UNCS) in Chinese Americans.
Methods :
Data were derived from the Chinese American Eye Study (CHES), a population-based sample of adults Chinese Americans. All participants underwent a detailed home interview and a comprehensive opthalmic examination that included assessment of presence and severity of lens opacification, using the slit-lamp-based Lens Opacities Classification System II (LOCS II), and status of phakic, pseudophakic and aphakic for each eye. VSC was defined as having LOCSII grading ≥ 2, visual impairment (VI), cataract as the primary cause of VI, and self-reported vision of fair or worse. UNCS was defined as any person who had at leaset one eye with VSC.
Results :
Of the 4582 (79%) participants who completed the ophthalmic examination, 4224 (92%) with complete data were included in this analysis. The overall prevalence of Chinese Americans with VSC in CHES was 1.4%. The age-specific prevalence of VSC was higher with older age, ranging from 0.23% for age 50-59 years, 0.67% for age 60-69 years, 4.5% for 70-79 years, and 15.4% for ages 80 and older (p<0.001). The age-adjusted prevalence of VSC was higher in females (1.7%) compared to males (0.90%) (p=0.04). The overall prevalence of any prior cataract surgery in Chinese Americans was 10.0%. Of those needing cataract surgery, 12% had an UNCS. There was no gender-related difference in the prevalence of UNCS.
Conclusions :
Our data showed that older Chinese Americans are more likely to obtain cataract surgery when they have VSC. When compared to other ethnic/racial groups, Chinese Americans have higher age-specific rates of cataract surgery and a lower prevalence of an UNCS compared to Latinos in LALES.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.