Smoking is associated with increased risk of cataracts among Malaysian adults, with nearly 20 percent of nuclear cataracts in Malay men attributable to smoking.
Smoking increases cataract risk, study finds.
That’s the conclusion of a new study published in this month’s issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.
Researchers in Singapore evaluated 2,927 Malaysian adults ages 40 to 80 who underwent comprehensive eye exams that included lens photographs. Among this study population, 1,338 (45.7 percent) had cataracts.
After adjusting for age, sex and other factors, current smokers were 48 percent more likely to have cataracts. The association between smoking and cataracts was strongest for nuclear cataracts; current smokers were twice as likely as nonsmokers to have this type of cataract.
Nuclear cataracts are the most common type of cataracts associated with aging. These opacities develop in the center of the lens and initially can induce myopia, resulting in a temporary improvement in reading vision sometimes referred to as “second sight.” Unfortunately, “second sight” disappears as the cataract continues to grow.
Among the study participants, 43.5 percent of men currently smoked, compared with only 3.2 percent of women.
Analysis of the study data also revealed that two indicators of low socioeconomic status — low education and low monthly income — also were associated with greater risk for nuclear cataracts in this sample population.
Tags: nuclear cataract, second sight, smoking, socioeconomic status