Socioeconomic Factors Affecting Visual Acuity in Cataract Camps

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Global Health
• Socioeconomics

Background:

• Cataracts are the primary cause of reversible blindness globally.
• Cataract camps offer large-scale, albeit temporary and resource-intensive, treatment solutions.
• Understanding socioeconomic influences on visual acuity post-camp surgery is crucial for optimizing outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify socioeconomic factors impacting short-term visual acuity improvements after cataract surgery in global camps.
• To analyze the relationship between visual outcomes and national/regional socioeconomic indicators.

Main Methods:

• Observational study of 52 cataract camps across 17 low- and middle-income countries.
• Mixed-effects linear regression analyzing changes in LogMAR uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) 1-4 days post-operation.
• Inclusion of socioeconomic factors: per capita GDP, Human Development Index, Cataract Surgical Rate, and ophthalmologist density.

Main Results:

• A significant decrease in LogMAR UCVA was observed in 4110 patients within four days post-operation (p < 0.0001).
• Greater visual acuity improvement correlated with fewer ophthalmologists per million performing cataract surgery (p = 0.0227).
• Extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) patients showed a larger daily LogMAR UCVA decrease post-op (p < 0.0001).

Conclusions:

• Cataract camps in regions with fewer surgeons performing ECCE demonstrated the most significant vision improvements.
• Focusing on populations in such areas and enhancing local ECCE surgical training can amplify the impact on reducing cataract-induced blindness in low-resource settings.