PURPOSE: We analyzed time series changes in cataract surgeries in Korea, and provide basic data to enhance the efficiency of medical services for cataract surgery. METHODS: Among cataract surgery statistics registered in the Korean National Health Insurance Cooperation from 2006 to 2012, we used data regarding the number of patients and operations and the number of patients and operations per 100,000 people. We analyzed various time series changes, including differences by sex and age. RESULTS: The total numbers of patients from 2006 to 2012 by year were 207,370; 228,170; 250,289; 268,548; 289,867; 308,111; and 302,182, respectively. The total numbers of operations from 2006 to 2012 by year were 272,920; 305,807; 338,332; 365,874; 398,338; 428,158; and 420,905, respectively. The number of patients and operations per 100,000 people were highest in men 80 to 84 years old and women 75 to 79 years old. Comparing the number of operations in 2006 and after, the patient age group with the highest increase rate changed from over 85 years old to 75–79 years old since 2010 in men and from over 85 years old to 50–54 years old since 2009 in women. For each year investigated, the number of operations performed was higher than the number of patients who received operations. CONCLUSIONS: Over the study period, the number of cataract surgeries increased, while the age of cataract patients decreased. Additionally, the number of cataract-related surgeries increased in relation to the number of patients.
Cataract Extraction ; Cataract* ; Epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Korea* ; Male ; National Health Programs

PURPOSE: To investigate the long-term characteristics of cataracts among adults aged 30 to 49 years in Korean over a span of 10 years. METHODS: Subjects between the ages of 30 to 49 years who underwent cataract surgery at St. Mary's Hospital from 1995 to 2004 (n = 976) were included. Patients with a history of ocular trauma, uveitis, other ocular or systemic diseases, and congenital cataracts were excluded. Additional information including type of lens opacity, urban/rural region, and pre- and postoperative visual acuities were analyzed. Lens opacity grading was conducted using Lens Opacity Classification System III. The Cochran-Armitage proportion trend test was used to analyze vision changes with the passage of time. RESULTS: Among the patients who had undergone cataract surgeries, 8.8% (976 / 11,111) met the inclusion criteria. The mean age was 41.7 +/- 5.45 years. Gender breakdown of the patient population included 79.0% male and 21.0% female. In terms of home environment, 60.9% were from an urban region and 39.1% from a rural region. Opacity type included anterior polar (AP), posterior subcapsular (PSC), AP and PSC, cortical, and nuclear in 35.7%, 35.1%, 7.0%, 6.0%, and 5.4% of patients, respectively. At a 2-month postoperative follow-up appointment, 92.7% of patients showed a best-corrected visual acuity of more than 20 / 40. CONCLUSIONS: Predominance of AP and PSC opacities as well as male patients was observed in this study population.
Adult ; Age Distribution ; Age Factors ; Cataract/*epidemiology/pathology ; *Cataract Extraction ; Female ; *Forecasting ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lens Capsule, Crystalline/*pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and clinical determinants of cataract and cataract surgery in Korean population. The 2008-2012 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was analyzed, which included 20,419 participants aged ≥ 40 years. The survey is a multistage, probability-cluster survey, which can produce nationally representative estimates. Prevalence of cataract and cataract surgery was estimated. Clinical determinants for those were investigated using logistic regression analyses (LRAs). The prevalence of cataract was 42.28% (95% confidence interval [CI], 40.67-43.89); 40.82% (95% CI, 38.97-42.66) for men and 43.62% (95% CI, 41.91-45.33) for women (P = 0.606). The prevalence of cataract surgery was 7.75% (95% CI, 7.30-8.20); 6.38% (95% CI, 5.80-6.96) for men and 9.01% (95% CI, 8.41-9.61) for women (P < 0.001). Cataract was associated with older age (P < 0.001), men (P = 0.032), lower household income (P = 0.031), lower education (P < 0.001), hypertension (P < 0.001), and diabetes mellitus (DM) (P < 0.001). Cataract surgery was consistently associated with older age, occupation, DM, asthma, and anemia in two LRAs, which compared participants with cataract surgery to those without cataract surgery and those having a cataract but without any cataract surgery, respectively. Hypertension, arthritis, and dyslipidemia were associated with cataract surgery at least in one of these LRAs. These results suggest that there are 9.4 million individuals with cataract and 1.7 million individuals with cataract surgery in Korea. Further studies are warranted to reveal the causality and its possible mechanism of developing/exacerbating cataract in novel determinants (i.e., anemia, asthma, and arthritic conditions) as well as well-known determinants.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Cataract/complications/*epidemiology ; Cataract Extraction ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/complications/epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension/complications/epidemiology ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nutrition Surveys ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Risk Factors ; Socioeconomic Factors

The epidemiological study to evaluate the prevalence rate and the morphological classification was performed in Do Bong-Gu, Seoul from May 9, 1989 to May 25, 1989. However, this report was a part of preliminary data to make a further population based epidemiological study to evaluate the prevalence rate and morphological classification of the age-related cataract in Korea. The results of this study are as follow: 1. The total examinees were 100;39 male and 61 female, and they were over 40 years of age who complained of recent visual acuity decrement. 2. 91 persons had lens opacity in different decement. 3. The prevalence rate of cataract was 89.7% in male and 93.4% in female and the sexual difference shows that the female had more higher frequency of lens opacity. 4. The classification of lens opacity according to the stage showed that the immature cataract was the most frequent type. The cortical cataract was the most frequent type and the mixed type was second in order by the morphological classification. 5. The prevalence rate of cataract in age had strong tendency to increase in older age and in 80s the rate was in 100%.
Cataract* ; Classification* ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Prevalence ; Seoul* ; Visual Acuity

The epidemiological study to evaluate the prevalence rate and the morphological classification was performed in Do Bong-Gu, Seoul from May 9, 1989 to May 25, 1989. However, this report was a part of preliminary data to make a further population based epidemiological study to evaluate the prevalence rate and morphological classification of the age-related cataract in Korea. The results of this study are as follow: 1. The total examinees were 100;39 male and 61 female, and they were over 40 years of age who complained of recent visual acuity decrement. 2. 91 persons had lens opacity in different decement. 3. The prevalence rate of cataract was 89.7% in male and 93.4% in female and the sexual difference shows that the female had more higher frequency of lens opacity. 4. The classification of lens opacity according to the stage showed that the immature cataract was the most frequent type. The cortical cataract was the most frequent type and the mixed type was second in order by the morphological classification. 5. The prevalence rate of cataract in age had strong tendency to increase in older age and in 80s the rate was in 100%.
Cataract* ; Classification* ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Prevalence ; Seoul* ; Visual Acuity

Adolescent ; Adult ; Cataract ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Exposure ; Welding ; Young Adult

The epidemiological study to evaluate the risk factors and types of cataract was performed in 183 cataract patients who received cataract operation in Chung-Ang University Hospital and in 80 control patients from March 1992 to Febraury 1994. Our study revealed that the sun light exposure and smoking were related to nuclear opacity, and drinking and smoking were related to cortical opacity. Also anterior subcortical opacity was more common in patients with heart disease. And the long term use of steroid and patient with diabetes mellitus were risk factors of posterior subcapsular opacity cataractogenesis. In this study we could confirm some risk factors were closely related to the type of lens opacity.
Cataract* ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Drinking ; Epidemiologic Studies* ; Epidemiology ; Heart Diseases ; Humans ; Risk Factors* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Solar System

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of cataract surgery in highly myopic Korean subjects. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 694 eyes of 694 patients who underwent cataract surgery. The case group included 347 eyes of 347 patients whose axial lengths (AXL) were > or =26.00 mm, and the control group included 347 eyes of 347 patients with AXL between 22.00 and 25.99 mm. Cataract density was determined preoperatively using the Pentacam Scheimpflug imaging system. We compared age at operation, cataract type, coexisting disease, visual prognosis, and complications. RESULTS: The mean age at the time of the operation was 59.60 +/- 12.28 years in the case group and 67.47 +/- 11.36 years in the control group. The case group had a larger proportion of nuclear cataracts and posterior subcapsular cataracts (PSC), 40.63% and 26.22%, respectively, versus 25.07% and 11.82%, respectively, in the control group. Postoperative corrected visual acuity showed a negative correlation with AXL (R2 = 0.172), and severe funduscopic findings were related to poor visual prognosis (p = 0.05). The incidence of retinal detachment in the case group after cataract surgery was 1.72%, compared with 0.28% in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Highly myopic eyes tend to develop cataracts earlier than normal eyes and to have a higher prevalence of coexisting disease and complications, such as retinal detachment. Nuclear cataracts and PSC were more common in the highly myopic group. Poor visual prognosis was associated with longer axial length and retinal myopic degeneration.
Aged ; *Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Cataract/*complications/epidemiology/physiopathology ; *Cataract Extraction ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myopia/*complications/epidemiology/physiopathology ; Postoperative Period ; *Refraction, Ocular ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies ; *Visual Acuity

PURPOSE: This study was performed to quantitatively evaluate the prevalence and risk factors of cataracts in Korean patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: Eight hundred fifty patients (males: 342, mean age: 58.07+/-8.60 years) with diabetes who underwent ophthalmologic evaluation were studied retrospectively. Diabetic patients were classified into a cataract group and control group (i.e. a group without cataracts). Risk factors like sex, age, duration of diabetes, fasting blood sugar, HbA1c, BUN, creatinine, and total cholesterol were compared between patients with and without cataracts. RESULTS: Four hundred twenty-five patients (50.00%) had cataracts at evaluation. Females were more common in the cataract group than the control group. The mean age did not differ between the two groups. Total cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL cholesterol levels were not different between the two groups. Duration of diabetes was significantly longer in patients in the cataract group than in the control group (13.03+/-6.96 years vs. 7.03+/-6.04 years, p<0.001). The patients in the cataract group also had higher levels of HbA1c, BUN, creatinine, and fasting blood sugar than those in the control group. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the duration of diabetes (p<0.001) was significantly correlated with the presence of cataracts. CONCLUSIONS: The duration of diabetes was the most significant risk factor for cataracts in patients with diabetes. This finding indicates that the accumulated effect of hyperglycemia is related to lens transparency in patients with diabetes.
Risk Factors ; Retrospective Studies ; Prevalence ; Middle Aged ; Male ; Korea/epidemiology ; Humans ; Female ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/*complications/epidemiology ; Cataract/*epidemiology/etiology

This study was done to report the epidemiologic characteristics of medical retirement from the Republic of Korea (ROK) Army due to visual impairment and to suggest a practical screening system for the draft. The medical records of 423 eyes of 301 patients who retired from the ROK Army due to visual impairment were reviewed retrospectively between January 2010 and December 2014. The patients were grouped by the presence of trauma, and each group was subdivided by military rank. We analyzed demographic and ophthalmic data, including the etiology of ophthalmologic disease. The etiology was classified into 5 anatomical categories (ocular surface, lens, retina, optic nerve and extraocular visual pathway, and extraocular muscle and orbit), which were then subdivided into the type of disease. The mean age was 24.5 years, and non-traumatic mechanisms accounted for 81.1% (343/423 eyes) of medical retirements. Visual acuity was better in patients without trauma. In enlisted soldiers, disease in the optic nerve and extraocular visual pathway was the most common anatomical category (40.5%), and primary open angle glaucoma (30.8%), retinal dystrophy (18.3%), congenital cataract (14.5%), and retinal detachment (9.7%) were the four most common diseases. Most medical retirements due to visual impairment resulted from non-traumatic mechanisms, even though patients were young. The fundus examination and visual field test would be more useful tools than a conventional vision test for large-scale draft screening for the most common two disease types: primary open angle glaucoma and retinal dystrophy.
Adult ; Cataract/epidemiology ; Cohort Studies ; Glaucoma, Open-Angle/epidemiology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Military Personnel ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Retinal Dystrophies/epidemiology ; *Retirement ; Retrospective Studies ; Vision Disorders/epidemiology/*pathology ; Visual Acuity ; Young Adult