The increasing frequency of surgery for cataract.

The increasing frequency of cataract operation was investigated by examining the age related cataract extraction rates for Glasgow. Detailed analysis of case records of sample patients over the past decade was carried out to characterise trends in frequency of intraocular lens implantation, age of the patient at operation, preoperative visual acuity and rate of operation on the second eye. Between 1980 and 1987 the rate of cataract operation per thousand increased from 7.1 to 10.5 for patients aged 75 years and over and from 3.6 to 4.2 for those aged 65 to 74 years. There was a marked rise in the number of cataract operations relative to other eye operations between 1977 and 1988, from 19.3% to 37% and this increase was greatest in patients of 70 years and over. The same decade has seen intraocular lens implantation rise from 0% to 94.6% of cataract extractions. Visual acuity data show a significant trend towards operation at a better level of acuity in patients aged 70 years and over (p = 0.028) but not in younger age groups. There was no change in the visual acuity of the fellow eyes and no change in the frequency of operation on the second eye. It appears that cataract surgery is increasing more than can be predicted from the age of the population and this must be recognised in planning the future level of ophthalmology services.