Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The objective of this study was to establish the prevalence of cataract and measure vision related quality of life among elders in Sri Lanka. The 4-part study consisted of a survey to establish cataract prevalence, a case control study of risk factors, an assessment of the National Eye Institute Visual Functional Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ), and a comparison of quality of life among elders with and without cataract. Cataract prevalence was 56%. Significant risk factors were age, being female, occupational exposure, lower social class, presence of chronic illnesses, and smoking. The NEI-VFQ was validated for use in Sri Lanka and quality of life of elders with cataract was significantly lower on the NEI-VFQ and 2 other standard measures. The findings inform the development of public health strategies for treatment and prevention of cataract in Sri Lanka where the impact of cataract is increasingly being felt with rapid population aging and are applicable to other developing countries.

Keywords

cataract prevalence quality of life elderly Sri Lanka NEI-VFQ

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Special Report . Blindness in Asia-the facts. Asian J Ophthalmol. 2000;2(4):11-13.

Abeykoon Atpl . Ageing and the health sector in Sri Lanka. Ceylon Med J. 2000;45:52-54.

Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2006 Revision and World Urbanization Prospects: The 2005 Revision. http://esa.un.org.uppp. Accessed January 30, 2008.

Nugegoda DB , Balasuriya S. Health and social status of an elderly urban population in Sri Lanka . Soc Sci Med. 1995;40:437-474.

Fernando DN , Senavirathna R. Physical health and functional ability of an elderly population in Sri Lanka . Ceylon J Med Sci. 1993;36:9-16.

Lokubalasooriya SA Disability Among Elderly in Gampaha District [PhD thesis]. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Post Graduate Institute of Medicine ; 1999:193-214.

Jayakody KWG. Physical Health Status of the Elderly in the Matale District and Risk Factors for Undernutrition Among the Rural Elders [PhD thesis]. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Post Graduate Institute of Medicine ; 2002:14-16.

World Health Organization. Blindness and Visual Disability. Social Economic Aspect Fact Sheet. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 1997 :143-145.

Dandona L. , Dandona R. , Srinivas M. , et al. Blindness in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2002;42:908-916.

10.

Venkata G. , Murthy S. , Gupta SK , et al. Current estimates of blindness in India. Br J Ophthalmol. 2005;89:257-260.

11.

Nirmalan PK , Thulasiraj RD , Maneksha C. , et al. A population based eye survey of older adults in Tirunelveli district of south India: blindness, cataract surgery and visual outcomes. Br J Ophthalmol. 2002;86:505-512.

12.

Nirmalan PK , Robin AL , Katz J. , et al. Risk factors for age related cataract in a rural population of southern India: the Aravind Comprehensive Eye Study . Br J Ophthalmol. 2004;88:989-994.

13.

Wickramasinghe C. Statement by Sri Lanka at the Second World Assembly on Ageing, Madrid, 2002. http://www.un.org/ageing/coverage/srilankaE.htm . Accessed January 30, 2008.

14.

Nanayakkara SD Vision Related Quality of Life Among Elders With Cataract in Gampaha District and Associated Risk Factors for Age Related Cataract [Dissertation]. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Post Graduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo; 2006.

15.

Lwanga SK , Lemashow S. Sample Size Determination in Health Studies. Geneva , Switzerland: World Health Organization; 1991:1-25.

16.

Mangione CM , Lee PP , Pitts J. , et al. Psychometric properties of the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ) . Arch Ophthalmol. 1998;116:1496-1504.

17.

Sumathipala A. , Murray J. New approach to translating instrument for cross-cultural research: a combined qualitative and quantitative approach for translation and consensus generation. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2000;9:87-95.

18.

Krishnaiah S. , Vilas K. , Shamanna BR , et al. Smoking and its association with cataract: results of the Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study, India. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2005;46:58-65.

19.

Wang J. , Foran S. , Mitchell P. Age-specific prevalence and causes of bilateral and unilateral visual impairment in older Australians: the Blue Mountains Eye Study. Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2000;28:268-273.

20.

Tay T. , Wang JJ , Rochtchina E. , Mitchell P. Vision and self-rated health: longitudinal findings from an older Australian population. Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2005;12:9-84.

21.

Chia EM , Wang JJ , Rochtchina E. , et al. Impact of visual impairment on health-related quality of life: the Blue Mountains Eye Study. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2004;45:71-76.

22.

Brian G. , Taylor H. Cataract blindness-challenges for the 21st century. Bull World Health Organ. 2001;79:249-256.

23.

Fletcher AE , Donoghue M. , Devavaram J. , et al. Low uptake of eye services in rural India: a challenge for programs of blindness prevention . Arch Opthalmol. 1999;117:1393-1399.

Vision-Related Quality of Life Among Elders With Cataract in Sri Lanka: Findings From a Study in Gampaha District

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References