Non-genetic Risk Factors of Congenital Cataracts

Overview

Prevention and treatment of the reversible childhood blindness, including congenital cataracts (CC), has been listed as a significant component of the international programme "VISION 2020 - the Right to Sight" launched by WHO in 1999. However, there is still a lot of unsolved problems regarding to CC, especially in developing countries, such as the delayed presentation and treatment to the hospitals, the lack of specialized treatment departments, and the poor treatment prognosis. With the two children policy opened in China in 2016, many CC parents hesitate to have a second child due to the potential high risk of CC. Date on detailed clinical characteristics of the CC children, including the demography, pregnancy-labor history, and living condition, are crucial for developing the national screening strategies of CC in Pregnant women. However, to our knowledge, it still lacks of thus large population-based and comprehensive investigations of the characteristics of CC children in developing countries.

Prevention and treatment of the reversible childhood blindness, including congenital cataracts (CC), has been listed as a significant component of the international programme "VISION 2020 - the Right to Sight" launched by WHO in 1999. However, there is still a lot of unsolved problems regarding to CC, especially in developing countries, such as the delayed presentation and treatment to the hospitals, the lack of specialized treatment departments, and the poor treatment prognosis. With the two children policy opened in China in 2016, many CC parents hesitate to have a second child due to the potential high risk of CC. Date on detailed clinical characteristics of the CC children, including the demography, pregnancy-labor history, and living condition, are crucial for developing the national screening strategies of CC in Pregnant women. However, to our knowledge, it still lacks of thus large population-based and comprehensive investigations of the characteristics of CC children in developing countries. Supporting by the National Ministry of Health and the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center (ZOC), a specialized eye facility with the largest CC database in China, we therefore comprehensively investigated the demography, pregnancy-labor history, and living condition of CC children with their first visits to the hospital. We also further established a mathematic model of non-genetic risk factors of congenital cataracts. The implications of this study will be of clinical importance to roughly predict the risk of CC in pregnant women.