Clinical profile and types of senile cataract in Bangladesh: A hospital-based study

Background: Senile cataract is a major cause of visual impairment worldwide. It is critical to understand the clinical profile and distribution of cataract types to develop targeted treatments. The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical profile and types of senile cataract among patients admitted to regional eye hospitals in Bangladesh. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional inpatient study was conducted at several regional eye hospitals managed by Al-Basar International Foundation in Bangladesh from March to August 2025. We employed a consecutive sampling resulting in the selection of 1,385 patients with senile cataract. The statistical analysis of collected data included the chi-squared test and multivariate logistic regression. Results. Cortical cataract (CC) was the predominant type (47.0%), followed by nuclear sclerotic cataract (NSC) (24.2%), and posterior subcapsular cataract (PSC) (12.3%). Mixed cataract occurred in 16.5% of cases. We identified a statistically significant association of cataract types with age, gender, place of residence, education, and occupation (p<0.001 for all dependences). PSC (OR=3.62) and NSC+PSC (OR=16.25) were more common in women. Mixed cataract was associated with diabetes (NSC+CC: OR=8.42; NSC+PSC: OR=4.02), while other cataract types were significantly predicted by arthritis. Never smoking was found to provide protection against PSC (OR=0.02), NSC (OR=0.13), and NSC+CC (OR=0.01). The odds ratio for NSC+PSC was 4.15 times higher in rural areas. Conclusion. The high prevalence of PSC and its close association with gender (women), medical conditions (diabetes), and lifestyle factors (smoking, rural residence) highlight the need to develop preventive measures for patients and screen high-risk groups.