Original ArticlesThe epidemiology of cataract in Australia☆
Section snippets
Methods
Details about the study methodology for the Visual Impairment Project have been published.37 Briefly, cluster sampling within three strata was used to recruit subjects aged 40 years and older to participate. Within the Melbourne Statistical Division, nine pairs of census collector districts were randomly selected. Fourteen nursing homes within a 5-km radius of these nine test sites were randomly chosen to recruit nursing home residents. Finally, four pairs of census collector districts in four
Results
A total of 3,271 (83% of eligible) of the urban residents, 403 (90% of eligible) nursing home residents, and 1,473 (92% of eligible) rural residents participated. Nonparticipants differed from participants only in language spoken at home; they were more likely to speak a language other than English at home.46 The participation rate for people who spoke Greek at home was 76% compared with 85% participation for people who spoke English at home. The study population is representative of Victoria
Discussion
This study differs from previous reports of cataract epidemiology in that the study population truly represents the general population. Victoria represents approximately one quarter of the entire Australian population, and the demographics of the study population have been shown to represent Australia.46 Therefore, these data can be used to estimate the increasing need for medical services in Australia for cataract and to plan public health interventions to target the modifiable risk factors
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The Visual Impairment Project was funded in part by grants from the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation, Melbourne, Victoria, the National Health and Medical Research Council, Woden, Connecticut, the Ansell Ophthalmology Foundation, Melbourne, Victoria, the Dorothy Edols Estate, Melbourne, Victoria, the Jack Brockhoff Foundation, Melbourne, Victoria, and the Ophthalmic Research Institute of Australia, Sydney, NSW. Dr McCarty is the recipient of the Wagstaff Research Fellowship in Ophthalmology from the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, East Melbourne, Victoria.