KATARAK PADA PETANI DAN KELUARGANYA DI KECAMATAN TELUK JAMBE BARAT

Cataract is a lens opacity that causes problem in eye acuity. Sixteen percents of cataract blindness in Indonesia were suffered by productive-age people. The objective of this study was to asses cataract prevalence in agriculture farmers and their families, and to determine the relation of cataract to some risk factors such as sociodemografic factor and one month expenditure rate. A cross sectional designed study was done in Teluk Jambe Barat Subdistrict in Karawang District, on 2005, with 1350 samples aged 30 years and up among agriculture farmers and their families in 4 villages, selected with purposive random sampling method. Data collection was done through interview, measurement, and examination. Cataract was diagnosed through ophthalmoscopic examination without midriatic by ophthalmologists. The study found that prevalence of cataract was 37.9% (n=1223, 90,54% of total sample), normal visus was 29.5%, eye impairment was 48.5%, Gangguan penglihatan berat was 16.6%, and blindness was 5.4%. Cataract proportion in peoples aged 33-44 years old was 4.66%, aged 45-54 years old was 30.31%, aged 55-64 years old was 76.89%, and aged 65 years old and up was 95.57%. The cataract had positive relation to the age and sex. The cataract among the people aged 55 years old and up was 26 times higher compared to people aged 30-54 years old. Cataract in female was 1.8 times higher than male. (p<0,05). Prevalence of cataract in this study was high enough, and need some efforts to prevent it. Key word: cataract, farmers, age, sex, Karawang