Cataract epidemiology and demographics
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] , Associate Editor-In-Chief: Joseph Nasr, M.D.[2]
Epidemiology and Demographics
Cataracts are a leading cause of visual impairment and blindness worldwide. In 2020, cataracts accounted for an estimated 15 million cases of blindness and 79 million cases of moderate to severe visual impairment among adults aged 50 years or older (GBD 2019 Blindness and Vision Impairment Collaborators, 2021).[1] The prevalence of cataracts increases markedly with age, affecting more than two-thirds of individuals older than 80 years. [2][3]
In the United States, age-related lenticular changes are common and increase substantially with advancing age. National estimates project that the number of individuals with cataracts will increase from 24.4 million in 2010 to approximately 50 million by 2050, largely due to population aging. [2][3]
Cataract prevalence is not evenly distributed across populations. In the United States, cataracts are disproportionately more prevalent among women, individuals of lower socioeconomic status, and racial and ethnic minority populations, including Asian, Black, Hispanic, and Native American individuals.[4]. These populations are also more likely to present with severe vision impairment at the time of cataract surgery, underscoring persistent disparities in access to timely ophthalmic care.[5]
Globally, access to cataract surgery varies substantially. In low- and middle-income countries, treatable cataract accounts for up to 50% of blindness, compared with approximately 5% in high-income countries, reflecting disparities in surgical capacity and health-care infrastructure.[1][6] Lower cataract surgery rates in these regions contribute significantly to the continued global burden of cataract-related blindness.[7][8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 GBD 2019 Blindness and Vision Impairment Collaborators; Vision Loss Expert Group of the Global Burden of Disease Study. Causes of blindness and vision impairment in 2020 and trends over 30 years, and prevalence of avoidable blindness in relation to VISION 2020: the Right to Sight: an analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study. Lancet Glob Health. 2021;9(2):e144-e160. doi:10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30489-7
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chen SP, Azad AD, Pershing S. Bidirectional association between visual impairment and dementia among older adults in the United States over time. Ophthalmology. 2021;128(9):1276-1283. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2021.02.021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cataract tables. National Eye Institute. Accessed July 23, 2024. https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn- about-eye-health/eye-health-data-and-statistics/ cataract-data-and-statistics/cataract-tables
- ↑ Elam AR, Tseng VL, Rodriguez TM, Mike EV, Warren AK, Coleman AL; American Academy of Ophthalmology Taskforce on Disparities in Eye Care. Disparities in vision health and eye care. Ophthalmology. 2022;129(10):e89-e113. doi:10.1016/ j.ophtha.2022.07.010
- ↑ Awidi AA, Woreta FA, Sabit A, et al. The effect of racial/ethnic and socioeconomic differences on visual impairment prior to cataract surgery. Ophthalmology. 2025;132(1):98-107. doi:10.1016/j. ophtha.2024.07.021
- ↑ Liu YC, Wilkins M, Kim T, Malyugin B, Mehta JS. Cataracts. Lancet. 2017;390(10094):600-612. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30544-5
- ↑ Tabin G, Chen M, Espandar L. Cataract surgery for the developing world. Curr Opin Ophthalmol. 2008;19(1):55-59. doi:10.1097/ICU. 0b013e3282f154bd
- ↑ Venkatesh R, Chang DF, Muralikrishnan R, Hemal K, Gogate P, Sengupta S. Manual small incision cataract surgery: a review. Asia Pac J Ophthalmol (Phila). 2012;1(2):113-119. doi:10.1097/ APO.0b013e318249f7b9