Abstract
Purpose:
To determine whether inflammatory and oxidative stress markers are associated with the 20-year cumulative incidence of types of age-related cataract.
Methods:
A randomized sample (N=1597) of the Beaver Dam Eye Study cohort was identified for assessment of 4 inflammatory markers (serum high sensitivity C-reactive protein [CRP], tumor necrosis factor-α [TNF-α], interleukin-6 [IL-6], and white blood cell [WBC] count) and 2 oxidative stress markers (serum isoprostane and total carbonyl content) at baseline, and were examined at 4 follow-up exams spaced 5 years apart. Age-related cataract was assessed from photographs of the lens.
Results:
The 20-year cumulative incidence of any cataract was 54.1% and was 35.3%, 11.7% and 29.9% for nuclear, posterior subcapsular cataract and cortical cataract, respectively. After adjusting for age and sex, TNF-α (results reported as odds ratio for trend per quartile, 95% confidence interval, P value; 1.23, 1.09-1.38, P=0.0005) and IL-6 (1.27, 1.15-1.41, P<0.0001) were associated with the incidence of any cataract. Stratifying by cataract type, IL-6 was significantly associated with the incidence of nuclear cataract (1.15, 1.03-1.29, P=0.016); both IL-6 (1.24, 1.10-1.40, P=0.0004) and WBC count (1.18, 1.05-1.32, P=0.006) were associated with the incidence of cortical cataract; CRP (1.25, 1.05-1.48, P=0.01) was associated with the incidence of posterior subcapsular cataract. Odds ratios and significance levels were nearly identical after further adjustment for other potential confounders.
Conclusions:
Our findings provide modest support for an association between markers of inflammation and the incidence of age-related cataract over 20 years. It is possible that more specific information on the cause of systemic inflammation would be useful in understanding these relationships.
Keywords: 445 cataract •
463 clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence •
557 inflammation