Most Indians Are Willing To Invest In Cataract Surgery To Ensure Vision Clarity: Survey

Cataract surgery not only helps restore vision to pre-cataract clarity but also to correct refractive errors, reducing or eliminating the need to wear glasses.

In India, vision is considered the most important aspect of aging, even above memory and mobility. Wearing glasses makes many Indians feel older and 90 per cent of the Indian population are willing to invest in cataract surgery to ensure vision clarity. These were some of the key findings of a global survey conducted by Alcon.

The Alcon Eye on Cataract survey was carried out across 10 countries, including India. The participants were people aged 50+ years, including those who had been diagnosed with cataract, and were either waiting for or had undergone cataract surgery.

According to the survey, patients who have undergone cataract surgery agree that they have experienced improved vision and better quality of life.

Cataract awareness in India

People in India seem to be more worried about losing vision than losing memory and mobility as they age. According to the Alcon survey, 86 per cent of people in India ranked vision as a more important aspect of aging than memory and mobility.

Interestingly, more than half of the participants from India stated that they feel older because of wearing glasses and 92 er cent of Indians aged 50+ are willing to pay for a lens that would liberate them from the need of glasses.

Regarding information on cataract surgery, nearly 60 per cent of people responded that they were likely to consult eye care professionals. While some said they would probably ask their family and friends about cataract surgery, others cited health-specific websites. As many as 90 per cent of the respondents from India were ready to invest in cataract surgery to ensure vision clarity.

Announcing the results of the survey, Amar Vyas, Country Manager of Alcon India, emphasized the need for more awareness around cataract in the country, which has a population of 260 million aging adults.

Good vision is important for healthy aging

In India, good vision is highly valued as people age, as revealed by the Alcon survey.

“Clear vision is crucial for people to enjoy daily activities they look forward to, and it also supports the process of healthy aging,” Vyas noted.

Talking about the importance of cataract surgery, he said, “Cataract surgery replaces the clouded lens with an advanced technology intraocular lens.”

Cataract surgery not only helps restore vision to pre-cataract clarity but also to correct refractive errors such as presbyopia and astigmatism, reducing or eliminating the need to wear glasses, he added while stressing the need to educate patients about this treatment.

Benefits of cataract surgery

People who have undergone cataract surgery reported that they have experienced improved vision and better quality of life.

According to the survey results, over 90 per cent of cataract patients look forward to activities such as reading, using electronic devices, driving, walking, and solving crossword puzzles after cataract surgery. 88 per cent of patients surveyed reported improved vision after cataract surgery with nearly half of them stating that they now have the vision of someone younger. Many patients agreed that their quality of life has improved post cataract surgery.