To Örebro University

PURPOSE: To investigate the association between alcohol consumption and the risk of cataract extraction.

DESIGN: Population-based prospective cohort study.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 34,713 women participating in the Swedish Mammography Cohort, age 49 to 83 years, completed in 1997 a self-administered questionnaire about alcohol, smoking, and other lifestyle factors.

METHODS: The women were followed from September 1997 through September 2004. The cohort was matched with registers of cataract extraction from the study area.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Incident surgical extraction of age-related cataract.

RESULTS: During 84 months of follow-up, we found 3587 incident cases of age-related cataract extraction. Compared with never drinkers, the relative risk of cataract extraction among current drinkers was 1.11 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02-1.21) after adjustment for age and other potential risk factors. In multivariate analysis, an increment of 13 g alcohol intake per day (corresponding to 1 drink = 330 ml of beer, 150 ml of wine, or 45 ml of liquor) was associated with a 7% increased risk of cataract extraction (relative risk, 1.07; 95% CI 1.02-1.12). Mean age at cataract extraction among nonsmoking women who used alcohol was 75 years, compared with 77.6 years among never drinkers.

CONCLUSIONS: These prospective data suggest that daily use of >/=1 alcoholic drinks was associated with a modest increase of risk for cataract extraction. The risk increased with increasing alcohol consumption.