Can cataracts be prevented?

TL;DRAbstract

As pointed out by Brian & Taylor (1), the prevalence and incidence of cataract blindness in the developing world far surpasses the surgical services available to treat these patients. This situation will worsen in the future, as ageing of the world's population will further accelerate the incidence of cataract blindness. A dramatic increase in the volume of quality surgical services is required to meet the needs of those already blind from cataracts. However, even if innovative programmes and methods can deliver these services, the ongoing and accelerated incidence of cataract will result in the continued growth of the untreated cataract blindness. Only by tackling the problem of cataract with both prevention and treatment can we hope to overcome the challenges ahead. The risk factors for cataract development have been delineated by previous epidemiological studies. (2, 3) These risk factors are summarized in Table 1. They are ranked according to the strength of association with catara

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