The Gender-Dependent Association between Obesity and Age-Related Cataracts in Middle-Aged Korean Adults

• Published in: PLoS ONE 2015, Vol.10 (5)
• Main Authors: Lee, Deok-Soon, Han, Kyungdo, Kim, Hyun-Ah, Lee, Sae-Young, Park, Young-Hoon, Yim, Hyeon Woo, Lee, Kang-Sook, Lee, Won-Chul, Park, Yong Gyu, Na, Kyung-Sun, Park, Yong-Moon
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adults; Cataracts; Complications and side effects; Diagnosis; Health aspects; Obesity; Risk factors
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0124262

The aim of this study was to investigate the association of central and abdominal obesity with the prevalence of cataracts in a middle-aged Korean population. This retrospective cross-sectional study was based on the data collected from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2008-2009, in which 4,914 subjects were examined. Ophthalmological examinations were performed to determine the presence of a nuclear, cortical, or posterior subcapsular cataract. Both general obesity (a body mass index [greater than or equal to]25 kg/m.sup.2) and abdominal obesity (a waist circumference [greater than or equal to]90 cm for men and [greater than or equal to]80 cm for women) were significantly associated with the occurrence of cataracts among middle-aged women [adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 1.32; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.03-1.69; and aOR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.06-1.85, respectively], while abdominal obesity was significantly inversely associated with the occurrence of cataracts among middle-aged men (aOR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.58-1.01; and aOR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.49-0.89, respectively). We report a difference in the association between obesity and the prevalence of cataracts based on gender.