What this means
The role of sex hormones in ophthalmic diseases is an emerging area of research; however, the magnitude of the impact of biological sex relative to other factors is unclear in cataract surgery. This study evaluated sex differences in pre-operative risk factors, surgical complexity, and outcomes of cataract surgery across the lifespan and identified other contributing factors.
A plain-English summary is on its way. Until then, this is the start of the authors' own summary.
- Who it was tested in
- Not stated
- Kind of research
- A study
The science
- Original title
- Visual Acuity Outcomes After Cataract Surgery Similar Between Sexes Despite Differences in Comorbidities and Surgical Complexity.
- Authors
- Sy KA, Buntain C, Yu Y et al.
- Journal
- Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.)
- Published
- Oct 24, 2026
- Study type
- Study
- PMID
- 42921524 ↗
Abstract
Background
The role of sex hormones in ophthalmic diseases is an emerging area of research; however, the magnitude of the impact of biological sex relative to other factors is unclear in cataract surgery. This study evaluated sex differences in pre-operative risk factors, surgical complexity, and outcomes of cataract surgery across the lifespan and identified other contributing factors.
What they did
This retrospective cohort study included patients ≥18 years of age who underwent cataract surgery at The University of Kansas Health System between 2015 and 2019. Chi-square, Fisher's exact, Mann-Whitney U, and t-tests compared demographics, systemic/ocular comorbidities, wait times, appointment adherence, complications, and visual acuity (VA) outcomes between sexes. Linear and logistic regressions identified predictors of post-operative VA and complications.
What they found
Of the 1606 patients, 639 (39.8%) were male and 967 (60.2%) were female. Wait times and appointment adherence were similar between sexes. While females had higher rates of ocular comorbidities (48.0% M vs 53.3% F; p = 0.041), and males had higher rates of complex surgery (44.1% M vs 34.1% F; p < 0.001) and intra-operative complications (16.7% M vs 10.8% F; p < 0.001), post-operative uncorrected VA (LogMAR 0.18 [IQR 0.05-0.35] M vs 0.18 [0.05-0.32] F; p = 0.986) and best corrected VA (0.10 [0.00-0.24] M vs 0.10 [0.00-0.24] F; p = 0.257) were similar between sexes, as was the percentage of patients who met their refractive target (77.8% M vs 79.9% F; p = 0.298). Age and sex were not identified as significant predictors of post-operative VA and complications, but ethnicity and specific comorbidities were. While sex differences were observed, the findings of this study suggest that socio-demographics and comorbidities are stronger drivers of differences in cataract surgery outcomes. Future work can evaluate how these disparities can be addressed to optimize outcomes for all patients.
The authors' abstract, grouped under plain headings from its own section labels.
Sy KA, Buntain C, Yu Y et al. Visual Acuity Outcomes After Cataract Surgery Similar Between Sexes Despite Differences in Comorbidities and Surgical Complexity. Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.). 2026. doi:10.2147/OPTH.S645308. PMID: 42921524. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42921524/
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