Abstract

Background:  To determine if gender inequities exist in Latin America in regard to cataract surgery. Design:  Meta-analysis. Participants:  38,992 subjects participating in epidemiological surveys; summary measures were used (not patient level data). Methods:  A literature search and knowledge of Rapid Assessment of Cataract Surgical Services/Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness studies carried out in Latin America found 11 studies with complete cataract surgical coverage (CSC) data. Using summary original study data, a meta-analysis (random effects model) was conducted to analyze the differences in CSC between males and females. Results were adjusted for design effect. Main Outcome Measures:  Odds ratio (OR) of receiving cataract surgery comparing women with men. Results:  CSC with a visual acuity (VA) <20/400 on an eye basis showed a non-statistically significant OR of 1.01 (95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.86-1.18) for women receiving cataract surgery in comparison to men. For VA < 20/60, a non-statistically significant OR of 0.94 (95% CI: 0.83-1.07) was obtained for women receiving cataract surgery. On a person basis at a VA of <20/400 and <20/60, non-statistically significant ORs of 1.12 (95% CI: 0.78-1.63) and 0.94 (95% CI: 0.77-1.15) were obtained for women receiving cataract surgery, respectively. Statistical heterogeneity was 0% (I(2) statistic), except for results at a VA of <20/400 on a person basis (I(2) = 30%). Conclusions:  In the Latin American countries in which CSC was assessed, gender does not appear to be a significant factor in receiving cataract surgery. However, more data are required to confirm these results.

© 2011 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2011 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists.