Alcon Announces Results of the Alcon Eye On Cataract Survey

Alcon announced the results of the Alcon Eye On Cataract Survey, which was conducted between March and April 2023 in Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, South Korea and the United States. The survey set out to evaluate vision and cataract insights among the world’s rapidly aging population. Survey participants included pre- and post-cataract surgery patients aged 50+ who had received their diagnosis within the last 5 years and people aged 50+ who have not been diagnosed with cataract(s). The results reveal cataract surgery not only improves vision, but also can help turn back the clock for patients’ vision, with almost half (45%) of post-surgery patients reporting they have the vision of someone younger.

Across the 10 markets surveyed, vision ties with mobility as the second most important quality of aging (83%) with only memory scoring higher at 84%. These results underscore the importance of protecting and enhancing vision, particularly understanding the benefits and options of cataract surgery, to the pursuit of pro-aging, an increasingly popular term used to describe a positive, engaged approach to growing older.

Cataract patients report they have an improvement in quality-of-life post-surgery, including 81% of patients who received any PC-IOL.

The survey also found that 84% of the global population aged 50+ currently wear and rely on glasses. However, 69% of all people surveyed, including those who have not been diagnosed with cataracts, would feel liberated without their glasses. Following cataract surgery, the percent of patients who reported reliance on glasses fell from 81% (pre-surgery) to 45%.

Despite cataracts’ prevalence and the importance of vision among the global population, misconceptions about the procedure remain:

• Only 51% of the global population aged 50+ understand they can choose from several different types of IOLs to fit their unique needs
• Only 58% of the global population aged 50+ recognize cataract surgery involves implanting a permanent lens into the eye
• More than 1 in 4 people did not know that cataract surgery has a short recovery time

* Survey participants totaled 7,331, including 1,826 pre- and post-cataract surgery patients aged 50+ who had received their diagnosis within the last five years (both monofocal and multifocal intraocular lens recipients) and 5,505 people aged 50+ who had not been diagnosed with cataract(s) and who had not undergone surgery.