Prevalence and Risk Factors for Cataracts in Persons with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

PURPOSE This study was performed to quantitatively evaluate the prevalence and risk factors of cataracts in Korean patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS Eight hundred fifty patients (males: 342, mean age: 58.07 +/- 8.60 years) with diabetes who underwent ophthalmologic evaluation were studied retrospectively. Diabetic patients were classified into a cataract group and control group (i.e. a group without cataracts). Risk factors like sex, age, duration of diabetes, fasting blood sugar, HbA1c, BUN, creatinine, and total cholesterol were compared between patients with and without cataracts. RESULTS Four hundred twenty-five patients (50.00%) had cataracts at evaluation. Females were more common in the cataract group than the control group. The mean age did not differ between the two groups. Total cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL cholesterol levels were not different between the two groups. Duration of diabetes was significantly longer in patients in the cataract group than in the control group (13.03 +/- 6.96 years vs. 7.03 +/- 6.04 years, p < 0.001). The patients in the cataract group also had higher levels of HbA1c, BUN, creatinine, and fasting blood sugar than those in the control group. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the duration of diabetes (p < 0.001) was significantly correlated with the presence of cataracts. CONCLUSIONS The duration of diabetes was the most significant risk factor for cataracts in patients with diabetes. This finding indicates that the accumulated effect of hyperglycemia is related to lens transparency in patients with diabetes.