DISTRIBUTION OF CATARACT BY AGE GROUPS, SEX, RESIDENCY AND LITERALITY IN POPULATION OF DISTRICT DERA ISMAIL KHAN

Abstract

Background: Cataract is an age related condition in which lens of the eye becomes opaque leading to visual disability. It is one of the principal causes of preventable blindness and visual impairments worldwide which is responsible for nearly half (47.8% or 17.7 million) of the population worldwide.

Objective: Our study is to assess the distribution of cataract in older adults, gender, literality and residency of cataract patient in district Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan.

Materials and Methods: The descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the department of Community Medicine, Gomal Medical College DIK from May 1, 2022 to May 30, 2022. Data was collected from the file/card number of the patients who underwent proper eye examination for the cataract disease. According to Raosoft SPSS sample size calculator for the said population with confidence interval of 95%, margin of error 5% and response rate of 50%, our sample size should not be lower than 385. Demographic variable including in our research project is gender, age groups and resident (as rural or urban)in population of DI Khan.

Results: Out of a sample of 408 patients with cataract, the distribution was higher for patients above 50 than 50 or below and higher for female than male patients. Unilateral were more than bilateral cataracts .The distribution of cataract was higher in the periphery than the city patients.

Conclusion: Cataract is still one of the challenges as public health issue worldwide. Timely diagnosis and proper management can definitely alter the disease outcome and can decreases the burden of disables on the society. Prevalence of disease increases with aging especially after age of 50. Knowledge about the disease distribution, health care planers can plan for future prioritization of resources accordingly.