Demographic Characteristics and Comorbidity Profiles in Patients with Senile Cataract

Aims: The study was aimed to review demographic characteristics and comorbid systemic and ocular disorders in patients who underwent cataract surgery in our clinic.

Study Design: Retrospective cross-sectional.

Place and Duration of Study: The study conducted in Department Of Ophthalmology, Ahi Evran University Faculty Of Medicine, Kırsehir, Turkey. The patients who underwent cataract surgery between November 2014 and December 2017 were evaluated retrospectively.

Methodology: We retrospectively reviewed 1197 patients diagnosed as cataract and underwent surgery. Age, gender, type of cataract, comorbid ocular disease, previous ocular surgeries and systemic diseases were recorded. By slit lamp examination with dilated pupils, cataract was classified as nuclear, cortical, posterior subcapsular, mixed and mature.

Results: Mean age was 67.87 ± 9.71 years (range: 45-95 years). Of the patients, 597 (49.9%) were female while 600 (50.1%) were male. The most common cataract type was nuclear cataract (27.2%); followed by posterior subcapsular cataract (24.7%), mixed cataract (23.1%), cortical cataract (14.9%) and mature cataract (10.0%). Hypertension was the most common systemic comorbidity (636 cases-46.9%), followed by diabetes mellitus (390 cases-32.6%). The most common ocular comorbidity was pseudo-exfoliation syndrome (121 cases-10.1%); followed by diabetic retinopathy of any stage (84 cases-7.0%).

Conclusion: Systemic and ocular comorbidities are commonly seen in the patients with senile cataract due to advanced age in these patients in general. All ocular and systemic comorbidities should be identified before surgery. These procedures will improve surgical success and prevents potential medico-legal issues after surgery.