The Effect of Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Differences on Visual Impairment before Cataract Surgery

Purpose: To compare the associations of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES) with visual impairment (VI) before surgical removal of cataracts across 2 health systems in the United States Mid-Atlantic region. Design: Multi-institutional cross-sectional study. Participants: Patients ≥ 65 years of age who underwent cataract surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) and Kaiser Permanente (KP) between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2019. Methods: Covariates included patient age, sex, smoking status, surgery laterality, Charlson comorbidity index, and ocular comorbidities. Multivariable generalized estimating equation models were used to examine the association of race, ethnicity, and area deprivation index (ADI) with visual acuity. Main Outcome Measures: Visual acuity before cataract surgery was assessed using logarithm of minimum angle of resolution values. Race, ethnicity, and ADI were the main exposures of interest. Results: At JHH, 11 509 patients (17 731 eyes) were included, whereas KP included 7143 patients (10 542 eyes). After adjusting for covariates, Black patients (β = 0.49), Asian patients (β = 0.83), and Hispanic patients (β = 0.95) were more likely to have worse visual acuity at JHH (P < 0.001 for all) compared with White patients. Similarly, at KP, Black patients (β = 0.56), Asian patients (β = 0.70), and Hispanic patients (β = 0.89) were more likely to have worse visual acuity (P < 0.001 for all) compared with White patients. Compared with those living in the least disadvantaged neighborhoods at JHH, higher ADI quartiles (more deprived) were more likely to have worse visual acuity (β = 0.27 [P < 0.001] for quartile 2; β = 0.40 [P = 0.001] for quartile 3; β = 0.95 [P < 0.001] for quartile 4). No significant association was found between ADI and VI at KP. Conclusions: Among older adults, non-White race or ethnicity was associated independently with VI secondary to cataracts in 2 large health systems in the United States Mid-Atlantic region, after adjustment for ADI. Area deprivation also was associated with VI but only in the JHH system. Our study suggests that non-White patients and those with lower SES are at greater risk of VI secondary to cataracts possibly because of social, structural, and institutional barriers. Financial Disclosure(s): Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article.