阳光下暴晒增加了患白内障的风险
NEW YORK, Mar 15 (Reuters Health) -- People who spend more time in the sun are also more likely to develop cataracts later in life, researchers report. The finding suggests that many cataracts -- a whitening of the eye lens that obscures vision -- could be prevented.
Cataracts account for 50% of the cases of blindness worldwide, and surgery to correct them costs the US Medicare system an estimated $3.4 billion annually, investigators report in the March issue of Archives of Ophthalmology. Cataracts affect 9% of men and 12% of women aged 60 to 69, and in those over age 80, more than 60% of men and 70% of women have cataracts.
In a study of about 2,500 people in southern France, those with the highest exposure to sunlight were 2.5 to 4 times as likely to develop cataracts as those who spent less time in the sun, according to Dr. Cecile Delcourt from the Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale in Montpellier, France, and colleagues.
People exposed to artificial light on the job (as with arc welding) also appeared to be at greater risk of developing cataracts, although more study is needed to confirm the findings. The good news is that wearing sunglasses resulted in a 40% reduction in risk of at least one or the three main types of cataract. The risk reduction was seen with PSC (or posterior subcapsular cataracts), but not other types, according to the report.
"Our results further confirm that no particular age is important in determining the risk but rather that the risk is a cumulative risk phenomenon, including all life periods, even childhood," Delcourt and colleagues write.
"It seems that sunlight exposure throughout a lifetime may be important to cataract formation. These results raise the hope that simple preventive strategies, such as avoiding exposure at midday, may reduce the prevalence of cataracts," the researchers conclude.
The authors note that in the US, "the National Eye Institute estimates that a 10-year delay in the onset of cataract would result in a 50% reduction in the (number of people affected by) cataract.", 百拇医药
Cataracts account for 50% of the cases of blindness worldwide, and surgery to correct them costs the US Medicare system an estimated $3.4 billion annually, investigators report in the March issue of Archives of Ophthalmology. Cataracts affect 9% of men and 12% of women aged 60 to 69, and in those over age 80, more than 60% of men and 70% of women have cataracts.
In a study of about 2,500 people in southern France, those with the highest exposure to sunlight were 2.5 to 4 times as likely to develop cataracts as those who spent less time in the sun, according to Dr. Cecile Delcourt from the Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale in Montpellier, France, and colleagues.
People exposed to artificial light on the job (as with arc welding) also appeared to be at greater risk of developing cataracts, although more study is needed to confirm the findings. The good news is that wearing sunglasses resulted in a 40% reduction in risk of at least one or the three main types of cataract. The risk reduction was seen with PSC (or posterior subcapsular cataracts), but not other types, according to the report.
"Our results further confirm that no particular age is important in determining the risk but rather that the risk is a cumulative risk phenomenon, including all life periods, even childhood," Delcourt and colleagues write.
"It seems that sunlight exposure throughout a lifetime may be important to cataract formation. These results raise the hope that simple preventive strategies, such as avoiding exposure at midday, may reduce the prevalence of cataracts," the researchers conclude.
The authors note that in the US, "the National Eye Institute estimates that a 10-year delay in the onset of cataract would result in a 50% reduction in the (number of people affected by) cataract.", 百拇医药