English

Abstract

Cataract is the opacification of the crystalline lens and or its capsule. Senile cataract is the cataract occurring commonly in the elderly who are above 50 years of age. It is one of the major causes of blindness in both the developing and the developed countries. Cataracts which develop prior to age of 50 are defined as pre senile cataract. There may be several reasons for an individual to develop such pre senile cataract. Some of the major identified risk factors are ocular trauma, uncontrolled diabetes, nutritional deficiencies, environmental factors like chronic exposure to sunlight as in tropics, cigarette smoking, refractive errors like high myopia, chronic intake of certain drugs for some systemic illness and certain ocular inflammatory diseases. AIM AND OBJECTIVES: To determine the various types of pre senile cataract and to determine the common causes of pre senile cataract. DESIGN: Prospective Observational study. METHODS & MATERIALS: The patients attending the out-patient clinics of the ophthalmology department who are found to have pre senile cataract and who give consent to participate in the observational study are requested to fill the questionnaire and undergo a complete ocular examination. The type of cataract and any cause of the cataract formation identified from the questionnaire, examination or investigations done are documented and analyzed using frequency distribution. RESULTS: 100 eyes of 54 patients were included in the study. Most common type of cataract was found to be posterior sub capsular cataract. The common causes identified were sunlight exposure, chronic steroid use, diabetes, uveitis and smoking. CONCLUSION: Protection from sunlight, avoidance of chronic steroid usage, screening and adequate control of diabetes, meticulous management of uveitis and avoiding cigarette smoking helps to prevent early development of cataracts.