Table 5

Prevalence of visual impairment due to cataract and uncorrected refractive errors by age, sex, and ethnicity

Prevalence of cataractPrevalence of uncorrected refractive errors
RespondentsCrude % (SE)*Age adjusted % (SE)Estimatedpopulation (SE)Crude % (SE)*Age adjusted % (SE)Estimated population (SE)
Definition: Visual impairment: presenting visual acuity of worse than 6/18 in the better eye with available means of correction.
*Age adjusted to the 1996 Malaysian population.
Age (years)
    0–946900.05 (0.04)2274 (1723)0.31 (0.09)14 686 (4225)
    10–1938140.05 (0.05)1987 (1987)1. 38 (0.27)57 280 (11 824)
    20–2923410.04 (0.04)1436 (1351)1.24 (0.25)39 909 (8589)
    30–3924770.16 (0.16)4380 (4380)0.63 (0.17)17 471 (4773)
    40–4920810.21 (0.13)4240 (2505)1.71 (0.31)33 808 (6341)
    50–5912631.25 (0.43)14 847 (5247)2.78 (0.60)32 963 (7028)
    60–698408.19 (1.22)57 783 (9825)2.90 (0.63)20 483 (4492)
    70+52125.54 (2.5)100 897 (12 591)2.46 (0.75)9703 (2962)
Sex
    Male84760.80 (0.11)0.88 (0.12)76 923 (11 229)0.89 (0.12)0.90 (0.13)85 558 (12 789)
    Female95511.17 (0.13)1.10 (0.11)110 922 (14 620)1.48 (0.18)1.48 (0.14)140 749 (18 292)
Ethnicity
    Malay97000.80 0.10)0.88 (0.10)77 003 (10 6601.20 (0.18)1.24 (0.15)11 647 (19 028
    Chinese43051.30 (0.22)0.99 (0.16)69 096 (13 542)0.90 (0.15)0.85 (0.14)48 099 (8566)
    Indian11540.94 (026)1.28 (0.33)13 472 (3757)1.27 (0.39)1.30 (0.38)18 218 (5757)
    Indigenous17401.13 (0.29)1.38 (0.27)27 027 (7309)1.74 (0.40)1.92 (0.37)41 625 (10 760)
All180270.98 (0.09)1.00 (0.08)187 845 (21 003)1.18 (0.12)1.19 (0.10)226 306 (26 239)