Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Apr;38(5):885-892.
doi: 10.1038/s41433-023-02798-0. Epub 2023 Oct 18.

The burden of vision loss due to cataract in China: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Rui Fang  1   2 , Pei-Lin Yue  1   2 , Xue-Fei Ding  1   2 , Ning-Xin Lv  1   2 , Yu-Xuan Jia  1   2 , Zhao-Chuan Liu  1   2   3   4 , Hong-Gang Zhou  5 , Xu-Dong Song  6   7   8   9
Affiliations

The burden of vision loss due to cataract in China: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Rui Fang et al. Eye (Lond). 2024 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: To provide a reference for future policy and measure formulation by conducting a detailed analysis of the burden of vision loss due to cataract by year, age, and gender in China from 1990 to 2019.

Methods: Data on the prevalence and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to cataract in China and neighboring and other G20 countries were extracted from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study to observe the changing trends of vision loss.

Results: The number and rate of all-age prevalence and DALYs for cataract in China increased significantly from 1990 to 2019. The age-standardized DALYs rate witnessed a slowly declining trend by 10.16%. And the age-standardized prevalence increased by 14.35% over the 30-year period. Higher prevalence and DALYs were observed in female population from 1990 through 2019, with little improvement over the decades(all p < 0.001). The disease burden of cataract is higher in middle-aged and elderly people. Blindness accounted for the largest proportion of vision impairment burden caused by cataract in China. The age-standardized prevalence and DALY rate of cataract in China were lower than those in India and Pakistan, but higher than those in Russia, South Korea, North Korea, Singapore, and Japan.

Conclusions: In the past 30 years, although the age-standardized DALYs rate has decreased slightly in China, the all-age prevalence and DALYs have both increased. This study highlights the importance of reducing cataract burden by providing timely and easily accessible quality care, especially in females and the elderly population.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. DALYs of cataract from 1990 to 2019 in China.
DALYs numbers (A), crude DALYs rates (B), and age-standardized DALYs rates (C). Shaded areas represent 95% uncertainty intervals. DALY disability-adjusted life year.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Prevalence of cataract from 1990 to 2019 and DALYs of cataract in 1990 and 2019 in China.
Burden of cataract in China in terms of prevalence numbers (A), crude prevalence rates (B), and age-standardized prevalence rates (C) by gender. Burden of cataract in China in terms of DALYs numbers (D), crude DALYs rates and (E) by age and gender in 1990 and 2019. The distribution of visual impairment severity burden due to cataract by age in terms of DALYs numbers (F) and crude DALYs rates (G) by age in 2019. DALY disability-adjusted life year.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Age-standardized DALYs rate of cataract in China and neighboring countries.
Distribution of age-standardized DALYs rate of cataract by gender in 1990 (A) and 2019 (B). DALY disability-adjusted life year.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. Age-standardized DALYs rates of cataract in G20 nations.
Age-standardized DALYs rates of blindness, moderate, severe and all vision impairment associated with cataract by gender in 2019. DALY disability-adjusted life year.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ruiss M, Findl O, Kronschläger M. The human lens: an antioxidant-dependent tissue revealed by the role of caffeine. Ageing Res Rev. 2022;79:101664. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2022.101664. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Naidoo K, Kempen JH, Gichuhi S, Braithwaite T, Casson RJ, Cicinelli MV, et al. Prevalence and causes of vision loss in sub-Saharan Africa in 2015: magnitude, temporal trends and projections. Br J Ophthalmol. 2020;104:1658–68. doi: 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2019-315217. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lee CM, Afshari NA. The global state of cataract blindness. Curr Opin Ophthalmol. 2017;28:98–103. doi: 10.1097/ICU.0000000000000340. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Khairallah M, Kahloun R, Bourne R, Limburg H, Flaxman SR, Jonas JB, et al. Number of people blind or visually impaired by cataract worldwide and in world regions, 1990 to 2010. Investig Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2015;56:6762–9. doi: 10.1167/iovs.15-17201. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Pascolini D, Mariotti SP. Global estimates of visual impairment: 2010. Br J Ophthalmol. 2012;96:614–8. doi: 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2011-300539. - DOI - PubMed