Community-based study of cataracts among type 2 diabetics in Kinmen

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and risk factors of each type of cataract among type 2 diabetics in Kinmen, Taiwan. There were 971 type 2 diabetics ascertained from a community-based mass screening between 1991 and 1993. In 1999, a total of 578 (59.5%) patients with type 2 diabetes were examined with an eye screening performed by two senior ophthalmologists using a 45-degree thin slit-lamp biomicroscopy and ophthalmoscopy to examine the lens after dilating the pupils. The overall prevalence, including subjects with or without surgery, was 31.0% (179/578, 95% CI: 27.3-34.7%), and had a statistically significant difference for gender (chi2 = 8.78, p = 0.003) and age (chi2-trend = 11.89, p < 0.0001). Based on multiple logistic regression, the significant risk factors of all types of cataracts were age (OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.12-1.20), lower diastolic blood pressure (DBP) at baseline (OR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.25-0.88), and higher triglyceride at baseline (OR = 2.19, 95% CI: 1.07-4.45). In conclusion, our results found that in addition to age, lower DBP and higher triglyceride at baseline may increase the risk of prevalent cataracts in type 2 diabetics.