Ultraviolet light, cataracts, and spectacle wear

Two groups of patients older than 60 years were examined for degree of development of nuclear sclerotic cataracts. The first group of patients had worn glass spectacles for a majority of their lives, while the patients in the second group had never worn spectacles or had worn only reading glasses. Subjects in the group with spectacles showed significantly less development of sclerotic nuclear lens changes. These findings may be due to the screening effect by spectacle glass of light in the ultraviolet range and suggest that uv light may be one of the risk factors in the development of nuclear sclerotic cataracts.