Lens opacities in Valencia, Spain.

Purpose: To evaluate the most common lens opacities in Valencia (Spain), analyzed by gender, grade, and type of cataracts. The results are compared with other studies performed at other geographical latitudes and on different races.

Methods: A total of 1951 eyes of patients diagnosed with cataracts, aged between 30 and 96 years, were evaluated in accordance with age, gender, type and degree of the cataract, bilaterality, and symmetry of this disease. Lens Opacities Classification System III was used to classify the cataract and the degree was graded as mild or moderate to advanced.

Results: The most common type of cataract is corticonuclear in the elderly and subcapsular in younger subjects. The most common are nuclear (28.4%) followed by cortical (6.2%), if combined cataracts are ruled out. There is a greater incidence of cortical cataracts in women (70%) and subcapsular cataracts in men (70%).

Conclusions: The results suggest the existence of a gender factor in cataract formation and coincide with those obtained in similar studies performed in areas at a similar latitude (40º N) and with different race population. The geographical location (intensity and length of exposure to solar radiation) seems to be a determining factor in the formation of a specific type of cataract, more than race, although there are other factors that contribute in the formation of a specific type of cataract.