Congenital cataract etiology.

AIM: Our purpose is to study the aetiologies of congenital cataracts, and to establish an approach to decision making of etiological diagnosis. METHODS: We included 85 children in a cross sectional study. The mean age was 4.5 years. These patients underwent a complete ophthalmologic and paediatric examination, and etiological investigation. RESULTS: An aetiology of congenital cataracts was found in 62.5% of cases. Hereditary was the most common cause, it constituted 42.3% of etiologies. Among these cases 77.7% were autosomal recessive. 16.4% of congenital cataracts were associated with general diseases or dysmorphology syndromes. Metabolic diseases and intrauterine infections were found in 7 % and 4.7% of cases respectively. CONCLUSION: Heredity remains the most common etiology of congenital cataracts.