title: Postmenopausal estrogen use, type of menopause, and lens opacities: the Framingham studies.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous studies of estrogen replacement therapy and lens opacities have not reported consistent findings.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether postmenopausal estrogen use is associated with the occurrence of age-related lens opacities (nuclear, cortical, and posterior subcapsular).
  
  
  METHODS
  Surviving members of the original cohort of the Framingham Heart Study who also participated in the Framingham Eye Study (1986-1989) were examined for the absence or presence of lens opacities. Data from the Framingham Heart Study, including information on menopausal status (collected biennially from approximately 1948) and use of estrogen replacement therapy (collected biennially from approximately 1960) were used to examine associations between lens opacities and duration of postmenopausal estrogen use, type of menopause, and age at menopause. Five hundred twenty-nine women, aged 66 to 93 years, were included. Multivariable-adjusted odds ratios of specific types of lens opacities were calculated for (1) duration of estrogen use (never and 1-2, 3-9, and >/=10 years), (2) surgical vs natural menopause, and (3) age at menopause.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Longer duration of postmenopausal estrogen therapy was inversely associated with the presence of nuclear lens opacities in an adjusted model. Women who had taken estrogen for 10 years or longer had a 60% reduction in risk compared with nonusers (odds ratio, 0.4; 95% confidence interval, 0.2-1.01). Longer duration of estrogen use was associated with fewer posterior subcapsular opacities at a borderline level of significance. No association was noted for cortical opacities. The risk of posterior subcapsular opacities was significantly increased for women who had undergone surgical menopause compared with women with natural menopause (odds ratio, 2.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-4.3). No association was noted for lens opacities and age at menopause.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Data from our study and other studies suggest that a reduction in the risk of lens opacities may be an additional benefit of postmenopausal estrogen use.
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Research, National Eye Institute, Bldg 31, Room 6A52, 31 Center Dr MSC 2510, Bethesda, MD 20892-2510, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Worzala
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hiller
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Sperduto
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mutalik
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Murabito
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moskowitz
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: D'Agostino
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002386:Cataract / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D004967:Estrogens / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000502:physiology; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D004967:Estrogens