Abstract
Cataract and blepharoptosis are both commonly encountered ophthalmic problems in older adults. Since they share similar risk factors, it is plausible that there may be an association between the two conditions. We examined data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2010–2012 to determine if there is an association between age-related cataract and blepharoptosis. Multivariable adjusted logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for association of each specific type of cataract with presence of blepharoptosis. Of the 10,387 eligible participants, 4782 (46.0%) had cataract and 1419 (15.8%) had blepharoptosis. There were more participants with blepharoptosis in the cataract group, compared with those in the no cataract group. After adjusting for potential confounders, participants with blepharoptosis had a higher risk of total cataract (OR: 1.557, 95% CI 1.201–2.019) and nuclear subtype cataract (OR: 1.305, 95% CI 1.050–1.620). Blepharoptosis was associated with significantly higher odds of cataract in obese participants when compared with non-obese participants (p for interaction = 0.0236). Our study revealed a positive association between age-related cataract and blepharoptosis; it suggests that thorough ophthalmic assessment is needed when assessing patients who are planning cataract or blepharoptosis surgery.
Highlights
Cataract and blepharoptosis are both commonly encountered ophthalmic problems in older adults
There were no significant differences in the association between cataract and blepharoptosis. In this nationwide representative study based on a stratified, multistage, probability-sampling design, we found that there was a positive association between cataract and blepharoptosis prevalence in participants over 40 years old
Participants with blepharoptosis had a higher risk of any cataract and nuclear subtype after adjusting for confounding factors
Summary
Cataract and blepharoptosis are both commonly encountered ophthalmic problems in older adults Since they share similar risk factors, it is plausible that there may be an association between the two conditions. Different risk factors seem to play a role for different subtypes of cataract, including cortical, nuclear, anterior polar, and posterior subcapsular cataract[8,9]. Another common age-related ophthalmic problem is blepharoptosis, which is defined as an abnormal, low-lying eyelid margin with the eye in primary g aze[10,11]. Given the fact that cataract and blepharoptosis are both commonly encountered ophthalmic problems in older adults, and share similar risk factors, it is plausible that cataract and blepharoptosis are associated in their prevalence. Our goal was to use ophthalmologic examination results from KNHANES to evaluate the association between cataract and blepharoptosis
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