Prevalence of lenticular abnormalities in a population-based study: Oxford clinical cataract grading in the Melton Eye Study

Abstract

Purpose To describe the distribution of the 11 features assessed by the Oxford Clinical Cataract Classification and Grading System (OCCCGS) in a population-based study.

Methods The Melton Eye Study is an English community-based epidemiological study of the natural history of eye disease in people aged 55 to 74 years. Both lenses of 560 subjects were graded at the slit lamp using a decimalised version of the OCCCGS. Subject prevalences were estimated by logistic regression and the extent, when present, against normal errors regression.

Results White nuclear scatter (WNS), brunescence, cortical spoke (cs), anterior subcapsular opacity (ASC), fibre folds (FF), waterclefts (WC) and perinuclear retro-dots all increased with age (p < 0.05). Posterior subcapsular opacity (PSC), vacuoles, focal dots (FD) and coronary flakes (CF) did not significantly increase with age. Subject prevalences of the features and the mean Oxford scores when present were: WNS (1.33), brunescence (0.88), CS 36% (0.34), PSC 11% (0.52), ASC 2% (0.53), FF 18% (0.53), WC 17% (0.29), retro-dots 11% (1.15), vacuoles 59% (0.43), FD 98% (1.79) and CF 39% (1.24). Significantly more common in women were both coronary flakes (p < 0.001) and waterclefts (p < 0.05).

Conclusions These are the first data on the distribution of these minor lesions in a population-based study. Coronary flakes and waterclefts are more common in women.

Key Words:

• cataract grading
• lens opacity
• population-based study
• cataract prevalence