Abstract

Introduction: Globally, cataract has remained the major cause of blindness over the years. World Health Organization (WHO) reveals that 47.8% of global blindness is due to cataract. In India, cataract is the common cause of blindness accounting for 62.6% cases of blindness. The prevalence of cataract in Tamil Nadu above 50 years of age was found to be 48%. Objectives: To determine the socio demographic profile and the type of cataract among the cataract patients attending ophthalmology department in Tertiary care centre. Materials and Methods: A record based cross sectional study was conducted among outpatient Department of Ophthalmology in Chengalpattu Medical College. Systematic sampling was done and 100 cataract patients were selected from total of 337 patients. Details regarding Socio demographic profile and type of cataract were collected from the records. Results: Mean age was 60.16 years with standard deviation of 20.05 years.63% were females. 85% were daily laborers and 56% were illiterates. Majority of them were from low socio economic status. Except mature and immature cataract, there were no major differences in the other types of cataract. Conclusion: To deal with such a major problem of curable blindness it is necessary to know its magnitude where health resources are scarce in order to mobilize the resources and it is important to know about the knowledge of epidemiological factors associated with cataract

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