Prevalence of Age-Related Cataract and Cataract Surgery in a Chinese Adult Population: The Taizhou Eye Study

To study the prevalence of age-related cataract (ARC), cataract surgery, and visual outcomes in a Chinese adult population in Taizhou, China. A population-based, cross-sectional study was conducted using a random cluster sampling method. We evaluated 10,234 eligible subjects 45 years or older (response rate 78.1%) in the Taizhou Eye Study. We conducted a detailed eye examination in all participants, including presenting visual acuity (PVA), best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), slit-lamp assessment of lens opacities using the Lens Opacities Classification System III (LOCS III), and fundus examination. The standardized prevalences of cortical, nuclear, and posterior subcapsular cataract (PSC) were 28.6%, 24.3%, and 4.4%, respectively, and combined nuclear and cortical cataract was the most common cataract type (40.0%). According to the US visual impairment (VI) criteria and World Health Organization VI criteria, 40.6% and 21.8% of PSC participants had binocular VI, respectively; these values were higher than the VI rates in cortical and nuclear cataract (all P < 0.001). Of 148 patients (3.5%) who had cataract surgeries, 41.2% had PVA