Clinico-epidemiological and Socio-economic Profile of Cataract Patients from Rural Areas of Eastern Rajasthan

Abstract

Introduction: Blindness due to cataract is a global health problem. In India also it is the major cause of blindness in 62.4%. The prevalence of cataract is more in rural population owing to lack of infrastructure and manpower as well as illiteracy and poverty. There is a paucity of data on the subject from rural Rajasthan especially the eastern region. In order to optimize limited health care facilities for the target population, it is necessary to know the clinico-epidemiological and socio-economic factors associated cataract; thus, the study was conceptualized.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the National Institute of Medical Sciences, a tertiary care center situated in the rural area of Jaipur from January 2018 to December 2019. Patients having cataract and giving consent to participate in the study were included.

Results: Eight hundred and eleven cataract patients were included in the study. The majority (53.3%) of cataract patients were aged and males (55.9%). Most patients were illiterate (68.5%) and belonged to low socio-economic status (88.7%). Diabetes and hypertension were common. In our setting, senility was the most frequent cause (91.1%) followed by trauma (5.3%); Congenital cataract was least common (1.7%). Sixty-four percent of total cataract patients had bilateral affection. Majority of patients (45%) had immature cataract, 39.9% had mature and 15% had hyper-mature cataract.

Conclusion: Socioeconomic and clinico-epidemiological profile of patients living in the rural population of eastern Rajasthan share similarities with people living in other rural areas of our country.