An Epidemiological Study of Cataract among Elderly Patients Attending in Eye Camps Arranged by Al-Basar International Foundation in Bangladesh

Background: Cataract is a common cause of visual impairment in the elderly and the leading cause of blindness worldwide. Bangladesh is not exception of this. Though cataract treatment is available across the country but there is no nationwide strategy to prevent this disease. Therefore, this study tried to explore the distribution of this diseases among the elderly patients in Bangladesh to provide some insights about the prevention strategies of cataract. Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among conveniently selected 1020 cataract patients attending in two eye camps of Bagura and Jaypurhat districts in Bangladesh. Face to face interview was taken by using a structured validated questionnaire. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean, median, and standard deviation as well as inferential analysis were used for both categorical and continuous variables with the application of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26. Results: Out of 1020 cataract patients, male and female were 53.5% and 46.5%, respectively where 69.5% were in the age group of 15-64 years. Approximately 50% of participants were illiterate and 70.6% had family history of cataract. About 42.8% of respondents had identified age as the cause of disease and almost 50.8% were suffered from 1.1 to 3 years. 39.4% had delayed in receiving treatment for having financial issues. Age and gender had statistical significant association (p<.05) with the cataract. Conclusion: Age and gender based prevention strategies should be planned and implemented as cataract is found to be prevalent on these variables in this study.