22% of Aligarh adult population suffers from cataract: Study

22% of Aligarh adult population suffers from cataract: Study

By TCN News,

Aligarh: A study of the optical health of the Aligarh population found that a significant population of Aligarh suffers from preventable and treatable eye diseases.

In a study conducted by the research team of Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College of Aligarh Muslim University and published in July 2009 issue of the Indian Journal of Community Medicine found that cataract was prevalence in as much as 21.7% of the population of Aligarh. 13% of the population suffer from visual impairment (6/18 reading of the ‘E’ chart), 7.8 with low vision, and 5.3% can be called blind.

Myopia, hypermetropia, and astigmatism was 11.5, 9.8, and 3.7% of the study sample, respectively.

Study done with a sample size of 700 included both urban and rural residents of Aligarh district. 43% of the study subjects were Musilms, 52% Hindus, and 2% Christians.

The research study conducted between September 2005 to August 2006, found that cataract was significantly associated with age, education, and fuel use. 82% of subjects aged 70 years and above had cataract. It was also highest in illiterates and the prevalence decreased with increasing level of education. People using firewood, coal, and cow dung as a source of fuel had higher prevalence of cataract.

The research team recommended improving the quality of eye care services with short-term emphasis on cataract and refractive errors and long-term emphasis on glaucoma and corneal diseases.

Inaamul Haq, Zulfia Khan, Najam Khalique, Ali Amir, Fatima A Jilani, Meena Zaidi are the members of the research team that conduced this study.