This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

The Blue Mountains Eye Study

Robert G. Cumming, MB, BS, MPH, PhD; Paul Mitchell, MD, FRACO

Arch Ophthalmol. 1997;115(10):1296-1303.

Abstract
Objective
To investigate the associations between alcohol consumption, tobacco smoking, and cataract.

Design
A population-based, cross-sectional study.

Setting
An urban community in the Blue Mountains, close to Sydney, Australia.

Participants
Three thousand six hundred fifty-four people aged 49 to 97 years. The participation rate was 82%.

Main Outcome Measures
Smoking history and details of current alcohol consumption were assessed by questionnaire. Lens photographs were taken and graded for presence and severity of cortical, nuclear, and posterior subcapsular cataracts.

Results
After adjusting for multiple potential confounders, people who had ever smoked cigarettes had a higher prevalence than nonsmokers of more severe nuclear (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-1.6) and posterior subcapsular (adjusted OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.1-2.1) cataracts. The association between pipe smoking and nuclear cataract (adjusted OR, 3.1; 95% CI, 1.5-8.2) was stronger than the association with cigarette smoking. Alcohol consumption was associated with a reduced prevalence of cortical cataract: compared with people who did not drink, the adjusted OR for cortical cataract among people who drank at least 1 drink a day was 0.7 (95% CI, 0.6-0.9). Heavy alcohol consumption (4 drinks a day) was associated with nuclear cataract in current smokers (adjusted OR compared with nondrinkers, 3.9; 95% CI, 0.9-16.6) but not in never smokers.

Conclusions
Consistent with other studies, smoking was associated with a higher prevalence of nuclear and posterior subcapsular cataracts. The only adverse effect of alcohol was among smokers: people who smoked and drank heavily had an increased prevalence of nuclear cataract.

Author Affiliations
From the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Sydney (Dr Cumming); and the Department of Ophthalmology, Westmead Hospital and University of Sydney (Dr Mitchell), Sydney, Australia.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Use of antihypertensive medications and topical beta-blockers and the long-term incidence of cataract and cataract surgery
Kanthan et al.
Br J Ophthalmol 2009;93:1210-1214.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Environmental tobacco smoke exposure and eye disease
Lois et al.
Br J Ophthalmol 2008;92:1304-1310.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Risk of Cataract after Exposure to Low Doses of Ionizing Radiation: A 20-Year Prospective Cohort Study among US Radiologic Technologists
Chodick et al.
Am J Epidemiol 2008;168:620-631.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

'Smoke gets in your eyes': a research-informed professional education and advocacy programme
Thornton et al.
J Public Health (Oxf) 2007;29:142-146.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Retrobulbar blood flow in patients with cataract
Grieshaber et al.
Br J Ophthalmol 2006;90:1512-1515.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Influence of tobacco use on cataract development
Raju et al.
Br J Ophthalmol 2006;90:1374-1377.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Intensity of Smoking and Smoking Cessation in Relation to Risk of Cataract Extraction: A Prospective Study of Women
Lindblad et al.
Am J Epidemiol 2005;162:73-79.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Polygenic Effects and Cigarette Smoking Account for a Portion of the Familial Aggregation of Nuclear Sclerosis
Klein et al.
Am J Epidemiol 2005;161:707-713.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Smoking and Its Association with Cataract: Results of the Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study from India
Krishnaiah et al.
IOVS 2005;46:58-65.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Risk factors for nuclear, cortical and posterior subcapsular cataracts in the Chinese population of Singapore: the Tanjong Pagar Survey
Foster et al.
Br J Ophthalmol 2003;87:1112-1120.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Recent Advances and Future Frontiers in Treating Age-Related Cataracts
Solomon and Donnenfeld
JAMA 2003;290:248-251.
FULL TEXT  

Myopia and Incident Cataract and Cataract Surgery: The Blue Mountains Eye Study
Younan et al.
IOVS 2002;43:3625-3632.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Prevalence of the Different Types of Age-Related Cataract in an African Population
Congdon et al.
IOVS 2001;42:2478-2482.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Prevention strategies for age related cataract: present limitations and future possibilities
Congdon
Br J Ophthalmol 2001;85:516-520.
FULL TEXT  

Relation between Size at Birth and Age-Related Cataract
Hall et al.
IOVS 2001;42:614-619.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Cataract: how much surgery do we have to do?
TAYLOR
Br J Ophthalmol 2000;84:1-2.
FULL TEXT  

Cataractous Changes in Rat Lens Following Cigarette Smoke Exposure Is Prevented by Parenteral Deferoxamine Therapy
Avunduk et al.
Arch Ophthalmol 1999;117:1368-1372.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT