Risk of cataract and glaucoma among older persons with diabetes in India: a cross-sectional study based on LASI, Wave-1

According to the International Diabetes Federation-2019 estimates, India is home to 77 million diabetic individuals which is projected to grow up to 147.2 million by 2045. Diabetes being a progressive health disorder leads to multiple morbidities and complications including eye diseases and visual impairments. As the burden of diabetes mellitus is increasing, eye problems like cataracts and glaucoma are commonly cited problems among the older adults. In this context, this study aims to provide the public health evidences on diabetes associated burden and risk of developing cataracts and glaucoma among older adults aged 60 and above in India. The analytical sample of this cross-sectional study comprised of 31,464 individuals aged 60 and above. Bivariate cross-tabulation and chi-square test were performed to understand the differential in the prevalence of cataracts and glaucoma by diabetes mellitus including the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the individuals. Binary logistic regression estimation was executed to estimate the adjusted odds ratio for each of the outcome variables within a multivariate framework. The cataract problem affects more than one-fifth of the older people, while glaucoma affects 2% of them. The prevalence of cataract and glaucoma is 29% among diabetic older adults compared to 22% among non-diabetic persons. In terms of gender, the cataract prevalence is comparatively higher among females (25%) than males (21%). It is important to note that while adjusting for socio-economic and demographic characteristics, the likelihood of cataract (AOR 1.495; p-value < 0.01) and glaucoma (AOR 1.554; p-value < 0.01) is significantly higher among older adults with diabetes than among their counterparts. Medical practitioners should conduct prognosis for diabetic eye problems among patients and raise awareness about the potential risks of developing vision loss, such as cataracts and glaucoma, which are more prevalent among individuals with diabetes.