title: Different amounts of alcohol consumption and cataract: a meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the association between different amounts of alcohol consumption and the risk of age-related cataract.
  
  
  METHODS
  We searched PubMed and Embase from their inception until May 2014 for case-control or cohort studies with data on alcohol consumption and age-related cataract. Heavy alcohol consumption was defined as more than two standard drinks per day, which is equal to a daily intake of 20 g of alcohol or 140 g per week. Moderate consumption was defined as less than 20 g of alcohol per day but more than never any. We performed separate meta-analyses for the associations of moderate or heavy alcohol consumption with age-related cataract under a random-effects model, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five case-control and five cohort studies were identified through comprehensive literature search. In the meta-analysis of 10 studies, the associations between moderate alcohol consumption and age-related cataract were marginally nonsignificant (pooled relative risk, 0.88; 95% confidence interval, 0.74 to 1.05; I = 82.1%), whereas heavy alcohol consumption was associated with an increased risk of age-related cataract (pooled relative risk, 1.26; 95% confidence interval, 1.06 to 1.50; I = 58.9%). The association between heavy alcohol consumption and cataract was stronger in case-control than in cohort studies. Adjusting for smoking as a potential confounder attenuated the association between heavy alcohol consumption and cataract.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Heavy alcohol consumption significantly increased the risk of age-related cataract, whereas moderate consumption may be protective for this ocular condition. Clinically, information on a patient's alcohol drinking history might be valuable to general physicians and ophthalmologists when there is a diagnosis of age-related cataract and should be collected on a routine basis in eye clinics.
authors.affiliation: *MD †BSc ‡MSc §MD, PhD Department of Ophthalmology, Children's Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China (YG, KF); and Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Preventive and Translational Medicine for Geriatric Diseases, School of Public Health, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, China (NY, YX, C-WP).
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Kehong
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Chen-Wei
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Pan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002386:Cataract / Q000209:etiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors