Prevalence of Cataract Blindness among Rural Population of Kutch District, Gujarat, India - A Cross Sectional Study

Objectives To estimate the prevalence of cataract blindness among rural population of more than 50 years of age in study area. To know the factors associated with cataract blindness. Materials & Methods Using multistage cluster random sampling method, out of 10 Taluka panchayats in Kutch district, Mundra Taluka panchayat was selected as primary sampling unit. Among, Mundra taluka Bhadreshwar, ratadiya, vanki, vadala and Luni selected as secondary sampling unit. A person with vision less than 6/60 was considered as blind. Illumination was done to see the degenerative changes in lens, iris shadow. Results Total 7400 population was covered. The calculated prevalence of cataract blindness was 10.8 %. Increasing age, illiteracy, working status was associated with occurrence of cataract. Conclusion Further detailed studies are needed to see the actual burden of blindness due to various causes in community for effective planning and to attain the global objective of vision 2020.