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Exposure To Sunlight Increases Risk Of Cataracts CHICAGO, IL -- Aug. 25, 1998 -- Exposure to UV-B radiation in sunlight has now been shown to increase the risk of cataracts in people who have had fairly low exposure throughout their lifetime, according to an article in tomorrow’s issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association. Previously, a link had been shown in studies of people in high-risk occupational groups, but not among a general population. Sheila West, Ph.D., and colleagues, from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, studied 2,520 older adults (65 to 84 years old) from Salisbury, MD., from 1993 to 1995 who participated in the Salisbury Eye Evaluation project. Participants were asked in questionnaires, "For the job you held longest in your life, did you spend more than two hours outside during daylight in the summer months?" and were asked to rate their vision status on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being excellent. In addition, they were queried about job history since the age of 30, time spent outside during the job and leisure time, geographic location of job and leisure activity and glasses and hat use while outside. Then, at an examination centre, each participant's eyes were dilated and photos taken of the lenses of their eyes. Photos were graded for the type and severity of opaqueness found on the lens. "Our study is the first to document the relationship between ocular exposure to UV-B and risk of cortical opacity in African Americans," they write. Slightly more than a quarter of the participants were African Americans. The researchers explained that racial differences do exist in the prevalence of several diseases of the eye. The odds of developing cataracts increased with increasing exposure to UV-B. The relationship was similar for women and for African Americans. Analysis of the dose of UV-B received by each age group after the age of 30 years showed no vulnerable age group, suggesting damage is based on cumulative exposure. "For this population of older persons in Salisbury, the attributable risk for cortical opacity [opaqueness] due to higher levels of UV-B exposure is 13 percent," they write. "These data add to the growing body of knowledge that suggests even low levels of UV-B can harm the lens." Related Links: The Journal of the American Medical Association E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version