Assessment of the risk factors for the development and morphological types of posterior subcapsular cataract using optical coherence tomography

Abstract

Aim. To analyze the risk factors for the development of posterior subcapsular cataract in patients with different morphological changes using anterior segment optical coherence tomography. Materials and methods. A prospective clinical study on the risk factors for posterior subcapsular cataract was conducted during 2020–2022. The study involved 296 patients (512 eyes). The morphological type of the posterior capsule was evaluated using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS OCT), Optovue RTVue 100 XR Avanti (Optovue Inc., USA). Results. Significant differences have been found between the first and second types of morphological changes in the posterior lens capsule in diabetes mellitus, long-term steroid use and myopia (χ2 = 68.01, р ≤ 0.0001), as well as between the second and third types of posterior capsule changes in myopia (χ2 = 16.97, р ≤ 0.0001). In the third type of morphological changes in the posterior lens capsule, mainly hereditary risk factors for the development of capsule opacification have been identified, namely, a history of retinitis pigmentosa in 77.8 % of cases, congenital myopia – in 22.2 %. Conclusions. Defining the morphological type of posterior capsule opacities coupled with studying the etiology of the process provide new knowledge concerning the prediction of visual functions and the phacoemulsification technique for posterior subcapsular cataract.