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Congenital cataract rate consistent over time
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The proportion of congenital and infantile cataract cases among people in Denmark has been stable since the 1970s, according to a retrospective study. For the most part, the causes of juvenile cataract remain unknown, making prevention of the disease a continuing challenge, the study authors said.
Birgitte Haargaard and colleagues reviewed the charts of 1,027 children born between 1959 and 2001 who had registered as having congenital or infantile cataract in a national registry. Cataracts were bilateral in 64% of the patients. Male children predominantly presented with bilateral cataract, whereas female children had mostly unilateral cases. In 71% of the cases, isolated cataract was the clinical presentation. An even proportion of cataracts was associated with additional ocular dysmorphology and with systemic anomalies.
The etiology was unknown in 87% of the unilateral cases and 50% of the bilateral cases.
Cataract caused by maternal infections decreased over the course of the study years, mainly due to the elimination of congenital rubella, the authors said.
The study is published in the December issue of Ophthalmology.