Systemic and ocular comorbidity of cataract surgical patients in a western Sydney public hospital

Background: This study aimed to assess the frequency of major systemic and ocular comorbidities among cataract surgical patients attending a large general public hospital. Methods: Consecutive patients aged 60+ years who had undergone cataract surgery at Westmead Hospital from July 2001 to December 2002 were included. Preoperative information was obtained from patient medical records, Results: A total of 773 cataract surgical procedures were performed during the 18-month period, including 668 (86.4%) aged 60+ years. Complete data were available for 653 eyes (97.8%); 62.2% were women. The mean age at surgery was 74.6 (+/- 7.2) years. Frequent systemic comorbidities included: angina (20.2%), previous myocardial infarct (15.0%), diabetes (27.5%) and hypertension (56.3%); 12.5% were current smokers. Major preoperative ocular comorbidities included age-related maculopathy (12.6%), diabetic retinopathy (9.0%) and glaucoma (10.6%). Pre-operatively, 21.7% of this group had severe visual impairment (visual acuity [VA] <6/60), 30.6% had moderate impairment (VA <6/24 - greater than or equal to6/60) and 30.6% had mild impairment (VA <6/12 - >= 6/24); 28.5% had presenting VA >= 6/12. Conclusion: The data indicate a high frequency of comorbid systemic and ocular diseases among cataract surgical patients.