Prevalence and risk factors of cataract in type 2 Diabetes mellitus: A Cross sectional study

Background& Objective: To estimate the prevalence of cataract in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and the possible risk factors associated with it. Methods: Cross sectional study carried out at a tertiary eye care centre in North Karnataka from 2012 to 2014. Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus 40 years and above were enrolled. A detailed history, including data on demographics, diabetes, and ocular history, was obtained from all patients. A detailed systemic and ocular examination was done. All patients underwent biochemical tests: Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS), glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and serum cholesterol. Results: Out of the 750 patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus enrolled in our study, 492 patients had cataract and 258 had no cataract. 242(60.35%) were males and 250(71.63%) were females. Prevalence of cataract in Type 2 Diabetes was 65.60%. Patients on OHA’s had higher incidence of cataract (P=0.0021). There was statistical significance between positive family history of diabetes and cataract (P=0.0271). There was no statistically significance between SBP (P=0.1108), DBP(P=0.0515) and cataract. Prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in cataract group was 78.80% and only 21.20% in non cataract group (P=0.0002). Mean FBS was 176.44mg/dl (P=0.00001) and mean HbA1c was 8.29% (P=0.00001) in cataract group and both were statistically significant. Conclusion: Nearly two thirds of the diabetic population showed evidence of cataract. Increasing age, female sex, longer duration of diabetes, positive family history of diabetes, diabetics on OHA’s agent, poor glycemic control i.e. raised FBS and high HbA1c levels were risk factors for development of cataract. Modulation of these variables may delay the occurrence of cataract in population of type 2 diabetes mellitus