Abstract
Many epidemiological studies have demonstrated that body mass index (BMI) is associated with the risk of developing age-related cataracts. These reports have suggested that high and low BMIs can affect the onset or progression of age-related visual impairment. However, few prospective studies have examined this relationship in a general Asian population. Therefore, in this study, we investigated whether BMI was associated with an increased risk of age-related cataracts by performing a 5-year prospective population-based study in a middle-aged Japanese population. This 5-year population-based study included 35,365 men and 40,825 women (aged 45-74 years), who were recruited into the Japan Public Health Center (JPHC)-based Prospective Study and had not reported cataracts in a baseline survey. The self-reported diagnosis of age-related cataracts was used in the analysis of this study. At follow up, 1,004 men (2.84%) and 1,807 women (4.43%) reported new diagnoses of age-related cataracts. The multivariate odds ratios (ORs) for those in the lowest and the highest BMI categories, compared with a BMI category of 21.0-22.9 as a reference point (OR, 1.00), were 1.29 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.93-1.79] and 1.15 (95% CI 0.96-1.39) in men, and 1.23 (95% CI 0.97-1.55) and 1.19 (95% CI 1.04-1.36) in women. Previous studies have suggested high BMI as a risk factor of age-related cataracts for Caucasian populations in developed countries while low BMI for populations living in developing countries. In contrast to those studies, the present large-cohort study showed a U-shaped association between BMI and the incidence of cataracts in Japanese men and women.
Highlights
Age-related cataract is a common eye disease, which is characterized by lens opacities and visual impairment due to the oxidation of lens proteins and degenerative changes to the lens caused by aging [1]
Objectives Many epidemiological studies have demonstrated that body mass index (BMI) is associated with the risk of developing age-related cataracts
This 5-year population-based study included 35,365 men and 40,825 women, who were recruited into the Japan Public Health Center (JPHC)based Prospective Study and had not reported cataracts in a baseline survey
Summary
Age-related cataract is a common eye disease, which is characterized by lens opacities and visual impairment due to the oxidation of lens proteins and degenerative changes to the lens caused by aging [1]. Cataract is a leading cause of blindness throughout the world [2,3,4,5,6]. The social influences of age-related cataracts are closely related to a deterioration in quality of life among the elderly. The medical care costs for cataract operations are not cheap and are a considerable drain on medical expenditure. Successful prevention of age-related cataracts is thought to be important, as it could potentially lead to remarkable reductions in national medical care costs due to a decreased need for surgery [5], as well as the preservation of visual acuity for many people
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