Age at recognition and age at presentation for surgery for congenital and developmental cataract in Kazakhstan

PURPOSE: To investigate the age at recognition and presentation for surgery for congenital and developmental cataract at Kazakh Eye Research Institute in Kazakhstan. METHODS: A retrospective review of children aged 0–18 years, who presented with congenital and developmental cataract between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2020. All medical records were reviewed. Gender, age at recognition, age at surgery, laterality, residential location (rural/urban) were recorded. RESULTS: The study population included 897 patients of children presented with congenital and developmental cataract over a 10-year study period, 58% of them were boys and 44.6% were from rural areas. Cataract was bilateral in 621 (69.2%) and unilateral in 276 (30.8%) of patients. Median age at recognition for patients with congenital/developmental cataract was 12 months. Median age at surgery for congenital/developmental cataract was 51 months. Only 14.7% of children underwent surgery within first year of life. The urban citizens underwent surgery earlier than patients from rural areas. The median delay in presentation for surgery was 15 months. CONCLUSION: The average age at cataract surgery in the population of Kazakhstan is much older than in developed countries. It is essential to study barriers that associated with delayed presentation to build strategies to overcome them. KEY MESSAGES: It is known that cataract surgery in children early in life provides favourable visual outcome. Children with congenital and developmental cataract in Kazakhstan experience delay in surgical treatment. Children from rural areas undergo cataract surgery later than urban citizens.