Abstract
Cataract patient data from 13 Australian practitioners were analysed in order to compare the distribution of seven principal types of cataract in relation to gender, age and place of birth. Relative odds ratios were calculated for age-matched pairs of three identifiable ethnic groups and each type of cataract. The number of statistically significant relative odds ratios far exceeds the expectation due to chance. The results suggest a relatively greater risk for cortical cataract amongst younger when compared with older groups. In contrast, the relative odds ratios for nuclear cataract, independently of age, were consistently greater than unity when Australians or Northern Europeans were compared with Southern Europeans. There was no gender-based difference in cataract type distribution.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Hodge WG, Whitcher JP, Satariano W . Risk factors for age-related cataracts. Epidemiol Rev 1995;17:336–46.
West SK, Valmadrid CT . Epidemiology of risk factors for age-related cataract. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 1995;37:1720–3.
Heiba IM, Elston RC, Klein BEK, Klein R . Evidence for a major gene for cortical cataract. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 1995;36:227–35.
Weale RA . Inter-ethnic risk ratios for different types of cataract. Ophthalmic Res 1995;27:214–8.
Pierscionek BK, Weale RA . Odds ratios for different types of age-related cataract: ethnicity and environment. Ophthalmic Res 1996;28:88–92.
The Italian-American Cataract Study Group. Risk factors for age-related cortical, nuclear, and posterior subcapsular cataracts. Am J Epidemiol 1991;133:541–53.
Hirvela H, Luukinen H, Laatikainen L . Prevalence and risk factors of lens opacities in the elderly in Finland. Ophthalmology 1995;102:108–17.
Mohan M, Sperduto RD, Angra SK, Milron RC, Ravindera LM, Underwood BA, et al. and the India-US Case-Control Study Group. India-US case-control study of age-related cataracts. Arch Ophthalmol 1989;107:670–6.
Altman DG . Practical statistics for medical research. London: Chapman and Hall, 1996.
Salen P, Martin J-L, Monjaud I, Guidollet J, Touboul P, Delaye J . Mediterranean alpha-linolenic acid rich diet in secondary prevention of coronary heart disease. Lancet 1994;343:1454–60.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
B.K.P. acknowledges generous assistance from Essilor International. R.A.W. thanks Research into Ageing for partial support