Incidence of environmental and genetic factors causing congenital cataract in children of Lahore

Objective: to check the incidence of environmental and genetic factors causing congenital cataract in infants. methods: the descriptive study was conducted at layton rahmatullah benevolent trust,lahore,pakistan,from october 2013 to april 2014,and comprised children under 15 years of age who had rubella syndrome,herpes simplex,birth trauma,trisomy 21,nance-horan syndrome or lowe's syndrome. results: of the 38,000 cases examined,120(0.3%) patients were diagnosed with congenital cataract. of them,52(43.33%)were aged between 2 and 5 years,22(18.33%) <11 years and 10(8.33%) ?15 years. bilateral congenital cataract was observed in 91(75.83%) patients and unilateral congenital cataract in 29(24.17%). environmental factors caused 72(62.07%) cases and genetic factors caused 44(37.93%). conclusion: congenital cataract predominated in boys compared to girls. early diagnosis and adequate therapy requires specific technology,as well as long-term and permanent care. © 2016,pakistan medical association. all rights reserved.