Increased incidence of cataract extractions in women above 70 years of age. A population based study.

During 1987 and 1988 all patients undergoing a cataract extraction at the eye Clinic of Sahlgrenska University Hospital were registered to determine the yearly incidence of cataract extractions according to sex and age. We found that after the age of 70 years the incidence of cataract extractions was higher for females than males. This difference was most pronounced for operations of the first eye. In this case the relative risk to undergo a cataract extraction for a woman compared to a man was 1.71 with 95% confidence interval 1.51-1.94, which showed a significantly increased risk. The preoperative VA of the best eye at the time of the first operation did not differ significantly between older men and women, indicating that women had no tendency to come earlier to operation. Our results show that after the age of 70 years the operation incidence of women is significantly higher than for men. This probably reflects a generally increased prevalence of various stages of cataract among females above 70 years in a Nordic population.