Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To study maternal, demographic, pre– and perinatal risk factors for idiopathic congenital/infantile (ICI) cataract Methods: From the Civil Registration System a cohort of all children born in Denmark and aged 0–17 years during 1977–2001 was established. Children with a diagnosis of congenital/infantile cataract were identified from the National Danish Register of Patients and cases of unknown/idiopathic cause remained in the study. Pre– and perinatal factors were identified by linkage with the Medical Birth Register Results: In total, 1027 cataract cases were identified, of which 629 cases were born in Denmark and of unknown cause. Bilateral isolated cases were male–dominated (62%), but not unilateral isolated cases (40%). Old (≥ 40 years) mothers at delivery, a low Apgar score (<7) and caesarean section increased the risk of ICI cataract. Children with low birth weight (< 2000 g) had a 10.6–fold increased risk of bilateral, but not unilateral ICI cataract. No significant associations were found for birth order, month/place of birth, or cigarette smoking during pregnancy Conclusions: Variables indicative of environmental influence were not associated with ICI cataract. Low–birth–weight children (< 2000g) had a significantly increased risk of bilateral idiopathic congenital/infantile cataract, whereas no strong risk factors were found for unilateral cataract. Together with the difference in sex distribution this suggests that the etiologies of bilateral and unilateral cataract are different
Keywords: cataract • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: risk factor assessment