Economic and emotional impact of cataract surgery on patients by gender in Honduras

Abstract

Abstract Purpose: To explore the economic and mental-health changes by gender following cataract surgery in Comayagua, Honduras. Methods: This was a prospective, cohort survey-based study of 75 patients undergoing cataract surgery in March 2023 in Comayagua, Honduras. Surveys were completed in-person prior to surgery and by telephone four months postoperative. Economic questions included the Simple Poverty Scorecard tailored to Honduras, questions on work, and the effect of vision impairment on work. Mental health questions included the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 to assess depression, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 to assess anxiety. Results: Income group increased in the whole cohort (1.81 to 2.53, p<0.005), among women (1.66 to 2.53, p=0.001) and when controlled for age and gender (ß=0.69, p<0.001). Participants were more likely to work outside the home following cataract surgery (17% to 37%, p=0.03). Anxiety scores increased among the whole cohort at follow-up, among women, and when controlled for age and gender. A significant proportion of participants (75%) reported that vision continued to interfere with their ability to work following cataract surgery. Conclusion: Cataract surgery had the anticipated effects of increasing income and work outside the home. It also had the unanticipated effects of increasing anxiety scores and failure to restore vision that facilitates work. These results challenge assumptions about the impact of cataract surgery in the developing world, and indicate that further research into the economic and emotional impacts of eye care is needed.