May 2007
Volume 48, Issue 13
Free
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   May 2007
Carbohydrate Nutrition, Particularly Glycemic Index of Foods Consumed, and the 10-Year Incidence of Cataract
J. S. Tan; J. Wang; V. Flood; S. Kaushik; J. C. Brand-Miller; A. Barclay; P. Mitchell; Blue Mountains Eye Study
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • J. S. Tan
    University of Sydney, Department of Ophthalmology (Centre for Vision Research, Westmead Millennium Institute), Westmead Hospital, Sydney, Australia
  • J. Wang
    University of Sydney, Department of Ophthalmology (Centre for Vision Research, Westmead Millennium Institute), Westmead Hospital, Sydney, Australia
  • V. Flood
    University of Sydney, Department of Ophthalmology (Centre for Vision Research, Westmead Millennium Institute), Westmead Hospital, Sydney, Australia
    University of Sydney, Department of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences, Sydney, Australia
  • S. Kaushik
    University of Sydney, Department of Ophthalmology (Centre for Vision Research, Westmead Millennium Institute), Westmead Hospital, Sydney, Australia
  • J. C. Brand-Miller
    University of Sydney, Department of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences, Sydney, Australia
  • A. Barclay
    University of Sydney, Department of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences, Sydney, Australia
  • P. Mitchell
    University of Sydney, Department of Ophthalmology (Centre for Vision Research, Westmead Millennium Institute), Westmead Hospital, Sydney, Australia
  • Blue Mountains Eye Study
    University of Sydney, Department of Ophthalmology (Centre for Vision Research, Westmead Millennium Institute), Westmead Hospital, Sydney, Australia
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships J.S. Tan, None; J. Wang, None; V. Flood, None; S. Kaushik, None; J.C. Brand-Miller, None; A. Barclay, None; P. Mitchell, None.
  • Footnotes
    Support Australian RADGAC grant(1992-94) and NHMRC grant 932085, 974159 & 211069.
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science May 2007, Vol.48, 5456. doi:
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      J. S. Tan, J. Wang, V. Flood, S. Kaushik, J. C. Brand-Miller, A. Barclay, P. Mitchell, Blue Mountains Eye Study; Carbohydrate Nutrition, Particularly Glycemic Index of Foods Consumed, and the 10-Year Incidence of Cataract. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2007;48(13):5456.

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Abstract

Purpose:: While dietary carbohydrates are thought to play a role in cataractogenesis, few studies have examined links between carbohydrate nutrition and cataract. Glycemic index measures the blood glucose response to a food compared with 50 grams of glucose. Glycemic load is the product of a food’s glycemic index and its total available carbohydrate content. It generally represents an indication of both quantity and quality of carbohydrate consumed. We investigated the relationship between dietary glycemic index, glycemic load, carbohydrate & the 10-year incidence of cataract in the Blue Mountains Eye Study.

Methods:: Of 3654 baseline participants aged 49+years (1992-4), 2406 were seen after 5- and/or 10-years and had photographs taken to assess incident cataract using the Wisconsin System. At each visit, participants completed a detailed food frequency questionnaire. Glycemic index was calculated from a customised database of Australian foods. Glycemic index, glycemic load, and all other nutrients were energy-adjusted. Risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using discrete logistic models. The outcome measures were incident nuclear, cortical and posterior subcapsular cataract or cataract surgery.

Results:: The mean glycemic index of foods consumed at baseline was 57 (standard deviation, SD, 5) and the mean glycemic load was 133 (SD 4). After controlling for age, gender, diabetes, and hypertension, participants in the highest decile of glycemic index, compared to the remaining population, were more likely to develop incident cortical cataract (RR, 1.50, CI, 1.01-2.23). After adjustment for age, sex, diabetes and other factors, higher carbohydrate consumption predicted cataract surgery (RR per SD increase, 1.16; CI, 1.02-1.33). These findings were similar after excluding participants with diabetes, although the association between glycemic index and cortical cataract was attenuated (RR, 1.42, CI, 0.94-2.15). Higher glycemic load predicted cataract surgery after excluding participants with diabetes (per SD increase, RR 1.15; CI, 1.01-1.32).

Conclusions:: In an Australian cohort, poorer dietary carbohydrate quality, measured by high glycemic index, predicted incident cortical cataract, and both higher carbohydrate quantity and glycemic load were associated with incident cataract surgery.

Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: risk factor assessment • cataract • nutritional factors 
© 2007, The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc., all rights reserved. Permission to republish any abstract or part of an abstract in any form must be obtained in writing from the ARVO Office prior to publication.
Copyright © 2025 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
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