Pterygium, pinguecula, and 5-year incidence of cataract

To assess longitudinal associations between pterygium, pinguecula, and 5-year incident cataract.

Population-based cohort study.

The Blue Mountains Eye Study examined 3,654 residents aged > or =49 years during 1992 to 1994 and reexamined 2,335 (75.1% of survivors) 5 years later. Slit-lamp examination recorded pterygium and pinguecula. Cataract was assessed using masked grading of lens photographs. Incidence was assessed in participants without cataract at baseline. Eye-specific data were analyzed using generalized estimating equation models, adjusting for age, sex, smoking, diabetes, and corticosteroid use.

Pinguecula was associated with a borderline-significant, increased risk of developing cortical cataract (adjusted odds ratio, 1.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.0 to 1.7). We found no significant association between baseline pterygium and the incidence of cortical, nuclear, or posterior subcapsular cataract.

Longitudinal data from the same study population provide weak support for cross-sectional associations between pinguecula and cortical cataract previously reported from our study.