Cataract extraction. Risk factors in a health maintenance organization population under 60 years of age
I. R. Schwab, M. A. Armstrong, G. D. Friedman, I. G. Wong, A. C. Carpentieri and C. R. Dawson
Department of Ophthalmology, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown.
Risk factors for cataract extraction in a young (less than 60 years of age)
urban health maintenance organization population were evaluated in a
case-control study. The subjects (72 case-control pairs) subscribed to the
Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in the San Francisco Bay area and
had cataract extraction between 1976 and 1980. All patients had visual
acuity of at least 20/40 OU, documented before development of cataracts.
Thirty-six (50%) of the 72 cataract extraction patients had at least one
known risk factor for cataract formation, including trauma, intraocular
inflammation, diabetes mellitus, syphilis, oral or topical steroid use, or
previous eye surgery. Male patients were found to be a mean of 4.3 years
younger than female patients, and diabetics were found to be a mean of 3.5
years older than nondiabetics. Variables found to be related to cataract
extraction in univariate analysis included diagnosis of diabetes mellitus,
a family history of cataracts, pulse rate, white blood cell count, and
syphilis.
