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Elderly
women with cataracts, but not elderly men, have a higher mortality
rate from a variety of non-cancerous diseases than people
without cataracts, according to researchers in the United
Kingdom.
Prior
research has linked a higher rate of death for patients with
cataracts who are also suffering from diabetes, but researchers
are unclear as to the reason for the increased risk in patients
without diabetes.
In the
four-year study of 1,502 women over age 65, the death rate
for women with cataracts was 39.8 per 1,000 compared with
24.8 per 1,000 for women with healthy eyes, the researchers
reported in the British Journal of Ophthalmology. The increased
risk of death in women with cataracts was found in women with
cardiovascular, respiratory and other non-cancerous diseases.
No link was found between cataracts and death from cancer.
"This
study has shown, for the first time, that cataract is associated
with higher mortality in women, but not in men, among the
non-diabetic population," wrote the researchers. "This
sex effect suggests that women may be exposed to risk factors
that increase both the risk of cataract and mortality, and
that men may have little or no exposure to these "sex
specific" factors."
"Possible
risk factors that warrant further investigation may be those
associated with some pregnancy and childbearing experience,"
concluded the researchers.
Source:
Medical Week staff,
week of April 14, 2002
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