Volume 5, Number 33
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Monday, August 22, 2005
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Body Mass Index
and Age-Related Cataract Body mass index (BMI) may be an independent risk factor for nuclear and cortical opacities, according to a Taiwanese study of an Asian elderly population. The population-based, cross-sectional study included 1,361 subjects aged 65 years or older living in the metropolitan area of Shihpai, Taipei. Of these, 806 were diagnosed with age-related cataract, defined as any type of lens opacity (nuclear, cortical and posterior subcapsular opacity) with a Lens Opacities Classification System III grade of higher than 2 in one or both eyes. BMI was calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters. The patients weight and height were measured by extensively trained interviewers. With a BMI of less than 21.3 as a reference point (odds ratio, 1.00), investigators discovered a U-shaped graph relationship between BMI and nuclear opacity, and a reverse U-shaped relationship for cortical opacity. In the final multiple logistic regression models, BMI and BMI(2) were significantly related to nuclear opacity and cortical opacity, but neither BMI nor BMI(2) was related to posterior subcapsular opacity. |
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SOURCE: Kuang TM, Tsai SY, Hsu WM, et al. Body mass index and age-related cataract: the Shihpai eye study. Arch Ophthalmol 2005;123(8):1109-14. |
Baseline Factors
in Three-Year Myopia Progression and Axial Elongation in COMET
Researchers at New Yorks Stony Brook University conducted a study aimed at identifying the baseline factors independently related to three-year myopia progression and axial elongation in the correction of myopia evaluation trial (COMET). A total of 469 children were enrolled in the trial and randomly assigned to progressive addition lenses with a +2.00D add or to single vision lenses. All were observed for three years. Eligible children were 6 to 11 years, with spherical equivalent myopia of -1.25D to -4.50D bilaterally. Investigators annually measured the primary and secondary outcomes, myopia progression by cycloplegic autorefraction and axial elongation by A-scan ultrasonography. They used multiple linear regression to adjust for covariates, including treatment. At the younger baseline age (6 to 7 years vs. 11 years, 8 vs. 11 years, 9 vs. 11 years and 10 vs. 11 years), female gender and each ethnic group compared with African Americans (Asian, Hispanic, mixed and white) were independently associated with faster three-year progression. Children aged 6 to 7 years had the fastest progression of all age groups, progressing by a mean (+/- SD) of 1.31D +/- 0.13 more than children aged 11 years. Girls progressed 0.16D more than boys. Children of mixed, Hispanic, Asian and white ethnicity progressed more than African-American children by 0.49D +/- 0.16, 0.33D +/- 0.11, 0.32D +/- 0.13 and 0.27D +/- 0.08, respectively. Age and ethnicity, but not sex, were independently associated with axial elongation. Among these myopic children, a 0.5 mm increase in axial length was associated with 1.00D of myopia progression. |
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SOURCE: Hyman L, Gwiazda J, Hussein M, et al. Relationship of age, sex, and ethnicity with myopia progression and axial elongation in the correction of myopia evaluation trial. Arch Ophthalmol 2005;123(7):977-87. |
Increased Nuclear
Cataract Risk in Airline Pilots Aviation involves exposure to ionizing radiation of cosmic origin. The association between lesions of the ocular lens and ionizing radiation is well-known. Investigators at the University of Iceland, Reykjavik, investigated whether employment as a commercial airline pilot and the resulting exposure to cosmic radiation is associated with lens opacification. In a population-based case-control study of 445 men, researchers classified lens opacification into four types using the World Health Organization simplified grading system. These four types, serving as cases, included 71 individuals with nuclear cataracts, 102 with cortical lens opacification, 69 with central optical zone involvement and 32 with posterior subcapsular lens opacification. Control subjects had a different type of lens opacification or had no lens opacification. Researchers assessed exposure based on employment time as pilots, annual number of hours flown on each aircraft type, timetables, flight profiles and individual cumulative radiation doses (in millisieverts) calculated by a software program. Odds ratios were calculated using logistic regression. The odds ratio for nuclear cataract risk among cases and controls was 3.02 (95 percent CI, 1.44 to 6.35) for pilots compared with non-pilots, adjusted for age, smoking status and sun exposure. The odds ratio for nuclear cataract associated with estimation of cumulative radiation dose (in millisieverts) to the age of 40 years was 1.06 (95 percent CI, 1.02 to 1.10), adjusted for age, smoking status and sun exposure. The results suggest that cosmic radiation may be a causative factor in nuclear cataracts among commercial airline pilots. |
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SOURCE: Rafnsson V, Olafsdottir E, Hrafnkelsson J, et al. Cosmic radiation increases the risk of nuclear cataract in airline pilots: a population-based case-control study. Arch Ophthalmol 2005;123(8):1102-5. |
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