Copyright (c) 2026 Luis Londoño, Mercedes Nelson, Humberto González, Luis Ramos, Yoseline Vergara, Renán Vega
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Introduction: Cataracts are a common cause of visual impairment. Identifying risk factors and elements associated with prolonged surgical times can improve prevention and reduce complications.
Objective: To analyze cataract risk factors and surgical time in older adults treated at a secondary care facility in Panama.
Methodology: Observational, cross-sectional, retrospective case-control study in 360 patients (180 with cataracts and 180 without cataracts). Crude and adjusted odds ratios were calculated, and the Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare surgical times.
Results: Statin use was associated with a lower risk of cataracts [adjusted OR = 0.49; 95% CI: 0.31–0.76; p = 0.002]. The 70–79 and 80–89 age groups had a higher risk than the 60–69 age group [OR = 2.26; 95% CI: 1.38–3.74; p = 0.001 and OR = 2.12; 95% CI: 1.11–4.11; p = 0.024]. No associations were found with sex, hypertension, or duration of diabetes. Surgical time did not vary significantly according to the variables analyzed. Discussion: In this population, age was confirmed as a risk factor and statin use as a possible protective factor, results consistent with previous studies. The lack of association with other variables could be due to sample size or specific characteristics of the population.
Conclusion: It is recommended that these findings be confirmed by prospective studies with larger sample sizes and the inclusion of genetic analysis.
