To report glare disability measured by a glaremeter.

Glaremeter values were measured in 270 normal eyes and 100 pseudophakic eyes. The normal eyes were classified into 3 age groups (teenage to 60's) with 90 eyes in each group. The pseudophakic eyes were classified into the monofocal IOL (intraocular lens) and multifocal IOL implanted groups with 50 eyes in each group. Glaremeter values of each group were measured using a glaremeter under photopic (82.2 ± 5.1 cd/m²) and mesopic (5.5 ± 0.3 cd/m²) conditions.

The highest mean glaremeter value in the normal eyes was 8657.34 ± 691.04 mm² under the photopic condition and 8837.97 ± 805.83 mm² under the mesopic condition in the oldest group. The glaremeter value of the multifocal IOL implanted group was 9390.87 ± 846.7 mm² under the photopic condition and 9799.87 ± 823.72 mm² under the mesopic condition, which was significantly higher than the normal eye and the monofocal IOL implanted groups ( p < 0.05).

In the normal population, the mean glaremeter values were increased according to age, and a significant increase was observed in the multifocal IOL implanted group. The present study results provide good basic data for cataract and presbyopia refractive surgery predicted to produce glare disability inevitably.