ArticleThe Lancet. Global health2022
Effective cataract surgical coverage in adults aged 50 years and older: estimates from population-based surveys in 55 countries.
Article in The Lancet. Global health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 73 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effect of incision site on surgically induced astigmatism in manual small incision cataract surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2026Pooled it
- Regional disparities in effective cataract surgical coverage and relative quality gap in India: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Indian journal of ophthalmology · 2026Pooled it
- Prevalence of visually significant cataract and cataract surgical coverage in Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open ophthalmology · 2025Pooled it
- Underserved groups could be better considered within population-based eye health surveys: a methodological study.Journal of clinical epidemiology · 2024Pooled it
- Visible expansion, fragile effective coverage: Using repeated eye health system assessments to interpret limited change in eye health outcomes in Sierra Leone, 2013-2025.Dialogues in health · 2026Article
- Twelve-Year Incidence, Causes, and Determinants of Visual Impairment and Visual Improvement in a Multiethnic Asian Population: The Singapore Epidemiology of Eye Diseases Study.Ophthalmology science · 2026Article
- Chronological age was not an independent predictor of visual recovery following cataract surgery in adults aged ≥ 75 years: a retrospective tertiary referral centre audit.International ophthalmology · 2026Article
- A global scoping review of clinical practice guidelines for cataract surgery.AJO international · 2026Review
- Comorbidities in Age-Related Cataract: Epidemiological Burden and Public Health Implications.Vision (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Residence and insurance inequities in the timeliness of access to first-eye cataract surgery in Eastern China.International ophthalmology · 2026Article
- The population characteristics and prevalence of visual impairment in a Southern European population.European journal of ophthalmology · 2026Article
- Implementing effective cataract surgical coverage: a comparative qualitative study in Kenya and Nepal.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- OCT-PRO: A Multimodal Model Integrating OCT and Clinical Traits to Predict Postoperative Outcomes in Cataract Patients.Ophthalmology science · 2026Article
- Global burden and cross-country inequalities of age-related eye diseases from 1990 to 2021: a comprehensive analysis of temporal trends and socioeconomic disparities.Eye and vision (London, England) · 2026Article
- Effective Cataract Surgery Coverage and Potential Influencing Factors for Adults in Fujian, Southeast of China: Fujian Eye Study.BioMed research international · 2026Article
- Changes in the prevalence, causes of visual impairment, and cataract service coverage in Karamoja, Uganda, between 2015 and 2023: Findings from two cross-sectional surveys.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Association between trouble sleeping and cataract in US adults: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Global, regional, and national cataract burden attributable to household air pollution and smoking (1990-2021) and projection to 2050.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Dissemination and implementation science for global ophthalmology: closing the last-mile translational gap.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
20 authors at 10 institutions in 7 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCataract is the leading cause of blindness globally. Effective cataract surgical coverage (eCSC) measures the number of people in a population who have been operated on for cataract, and had a good outcome, as a proportion of all people operated on or requiring surgery. Therefore, eCSC describes service access (ie, cataract surgical coverage, [CSC]) adjusted for quality. The 74th World Health Assembly endorsed a global target for eCSC of a 30-percentage point increase by 2030. To enable monitoring of progress towards this target, we analysed Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) survey data to establish baseline estimates of eCSC and CSC.
methodsIn this secondary analysis, we used data from 148 RAAB surveys undertaken in 55 countries (2003-21) to calculate eCSC, CSC, and the relative quality gap (% difference between eCSC and CSC). Eligible studies were any version of the RAAB survey conducted since 2000 with individual participant survey data and census population data for people aged 50 years or older in the sampling area and permission from the study's principal investigator for use of data. We compared median eCSC between WHO regions and World Bank income strata and calculated the pooled risk difference and risk ratio comparing eCSC in men and women.
findingsCountry eCSC estimates ranged from 3·8% (95% CI 2·1-5·5) in Guinea Bissau, 2010, to 70·3% (95% CI 65·8-74·9) in Hungary, 2015, and the relative quality gap from 10·8% (CSC: 65·7%, eCSC: 58·6%) in Argentina, 2013, to 73·4% (CSC: 14·3%, eCSC: 3·8%) in Guinea Bissau, 2010. Median eCSC was highest among high-income countries (60·5% [IQR 55·6-65·4]; n=2 surveys; 2011-15) and lowest among low-income countries (14·8%; [IQR 8·3-20·7]; n=14 surveys; 2005-21). eCSC was higher in men than women (148 studies pooled risk difference 3·2% [95% CI 2·3-4·1] and pooled risk ratio of 1·20 [95% CI 1·15-1·25]).
interpretationeCSC varies widely between countries, increases with greater income level, and is higher in men. In pursuit of 2030 targets, many countries, particularly in lower-resource settings, should emphasise quality improvement before increasing access to surgery. Equity must be embedded in efforts to improve access to surgery, with a focus on underserved groups.
fundingIndigo Trust, Peek Vision, and Wellcome Trust.
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