review · Eye
A systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated global and regional trends in vision impairment and blindness caused by cataract between 2000 and 2020. In 2020, cataract was responsible for 17.0 million cases of blindness, representing 39.6 percent of all blind individuals, and 83.5 million cases of moderate to severe vision impairment. Women accounted for approximately 60 percent of those affected. Between 1990 and 2020, the absolute number of people blind due to cataract rose by 29.7 percent, while cases of moderate to severe vision impairment grew by 93.1 percent. Although age-standardised prevalence of cataract blindness dropped by 27.5 percent, population growth and ageing have outpaced the benefits delivered by eye care programmes. Cataract remains a disproportionate cause of blindness in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania, highlighting a persistent requirement for expanded surgical capacity.
Cataract remains one of the leading causes of avoidable blindness globally, with a disproportionate burden falling on women and populations in South and Southeast Asia. While public health programmes have successfully reduced age-standardised prevalence rates, demographic expansion and ageing mean that the absolute number of affected individuals continues to increase. This evidence helps health authorities direct resources to scale up surgical access.
The abstract does not indicate a direct commercialisation pathway or evaluate a specific product. However, its epidemiological data demonstrates a massive, growing global requirement for cataract surgery. This indicates strong potential demand for ophthalmic equipment manufacturers, surgical supply innovators, and healthcare delivery organisations that can supply scalable, low-cost surgical interventions, especially in high-burden regions like South Asia and Southeast Asia.
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BACKGROUND: To estimate global and regional trends from 2000 to 2020 of the number of persons visually impaired by cataract and their proportion of the total number of vision-impaired individuals. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis of published population studies and gray literature from 2000 to 2020 was carried out to estimate global and regional trends. We developed prevalence estimates based on modeled distance visual impairment and blindness due to cataract, producing location-, year-, age-, and sex-specific estimates of moderate to severe vision impairment (MSVI presenting visual acuity <6/18, ≥3/60) and blindness (presenting visual acuity <3/60). Estimates are age-standardized using the GBD standard population. RESULTS: In 2020, among overall (all ages) 43.3 million blind and 295 million with MSVI, 17.0 million (39.6%) people were blind and 83.5 million (28.3%) had MSVI due to cataract blind 60% female, MSVI 59% female. From 1990 to 2020, the count of persons blind (MSVI) due to cataract increased by 29.7%(93.1%) whereas the age-standardized global prevalence of cataract-related blindness improved by -27.5% and MSVI increased by 7.2%. The contribution of cataract to the age-standardized prevalence of blindness exceeded the global figure only in South Asia (62.9%) and Southeast Asia and Oceania (47.9%). CONCLUSIONS: The number of people blind and with MSVI due to cataract has risen over the past 30 years, despite a decrease in the age-standardized prevalence of cataract. This indicates that cataract treatment programs have been beneficial, but population growth and aging have outpaced their impact. Growing numbers of cataract blind indicate that more, better-directed, resources are needed to increase global capacity for cataract surgery.
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DOI: 10.1038/s41433-024-02961-1
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