Smoking is a well recognize
risk factor for many health problems including high blood pressure, heart
disease and diabetes, as well as eye problems and diseases such as age related
macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma and cataracts. There is relatively good
news in that we now know that stopping smoking can reduce your risk of
developing cataracts.
Research on Smoking & Cataract Development
Researchers studying the
risk of cataracts among smokers reported in JAMA Ophthalmology that stopping smoking decreases
the risk of cataracts over time. The researchers followed a total of 44,371
men, 45 to 79 years old over a 10 year period and the participants filled out
questionnaires on their smoking habits and lifestyles and were then matched
with the Swedish National Day-Surgery Register and local records of cataract
extraction. The researchers found that smokers
of more than 15 cigarettes a day had a 42% increased risk of cataract surgery
compared with men who had never smoked. It also found that men who smoked an average of more than 15
cigarettes a day but had stopped smoking more than 20 years earlier had a 21%
increased risk. Thus, they found a positive association between cigarette
smoking and cataract surgery in men, with a significant increase of cataracts
among smokers compared to those who never smoked. Also, stopping smoking was associated with a statistically significant
decrease in risk with increasing time from stopping smoking. Even heavy
smokers had some benefit from quitting smoking. Further, a previous study reviewed
the relationship between smoking cessation and cataract risk in women. In this
study, they found that after cessation of smoking, cataract risk in women
decreased with time. Women who smoked 6 to 10 cigarettes a day but had ceased
smoking 10 years earlier, and women who smoked more than 10 cigarettes a day
but had ceased smoking 20 years earlier were found to have a relative risk of
cataracts not significantly different from women who had never smoked.
Smoking cessation seems to decrease the
risk of cataract development and the need for cataract surgery with time,
although the risk persists for decades. The higher the intensity of smoking,
the longer it takes for the increased risk to decline. These findings emphasize
the importance of early smoking cessation and, preferably, the avoidance of
smoking altogether.
If
you or someone you know has a question about smoking, cataracts risk, laser
cataract surgery or lens implants, please call
The Eye Care
& Surgery Center at 908-789-8999, visit The Eye Care & Surgery Center, Google+ or
facebook.com/eyecareandsurgerycenter to schedule an appointment.
The Eye
Care & Surgery Center is located at 592 Springfield Avenue, Westfield,
New Jersey 07090, 10 Mountain Boulevard, Warren, New Jersey 07059 and 517 Route
One South, Suite 1100, Iselin, New Jersey 08830, and
is conveniently located for patients from throughout central and northern New Jersey.
