Investigation of Relationship Between Smoking Pattern and Cataract in Azar Cohort Population

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of cataract and study the relationship of smoking and other potential risk factors with visually significant cataract. Method: This is a cross-sectional study based on the Azar cohort databases (including the eye cohort study) including 11208 participants aged 35 to 70 years of the general population. According to the questionnaire, participants were divided into 5 groups in terms of smoking. Eye examinations were performed in two steps. The first step was performed by an optometrist, and in the second step participants with poor red reflex or visual acuity of less than 8/10 were examined by an ophthalmologist for diagnosing cataract. Result: Of the participants, 4992 (44.5%) were male and 6216 (55.5%) were female, with a mean age of 50.1 ± 9.27 years. The prevalence of cataract was 7.2%. The frequency of ex-smoking in the male and female population in the cataract group was significantly higher than that in the non-cataract group (male: P = 0.008, female: P = 0.01), but after adjustment for age and education level, lost its significance (male OR = 1.1 [0.8-1.5], P = 0.4; female OR = 1.5 [0.5-4], P = 0.3). There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in both genders in terms of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and myopia.