Abstract
A study was made of records of patients who have had at least 1 senile cataract removed and for whom refraction records were available. The risk of a cataract occurring was determined as a function of precataractous refraction. Emmetropia was found to provide a sharp borderline between the low risk (about 1:1000) of hypermetropes and an increasing risk (about 1:100) for moderate myopes for patients in their early 60s.