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ABSTRACT
Purpose: To determine the association between statin use and incident cataract surgery.
Methods: Using the resources of the Rochester Epidemiology Project, a retrospective population-based, case-control study was performed. Cases included 6024 county residents aged 50 years and older who had first-eye cataract surgery between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2011. Controls included residents who had never had cataract surgery and were matched to cases by age, sex, and index date within 1 month of surgery. Statin medications continuously prescribed for at least 1 year before the surgery date (cases) or index date (controls) were examined. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using logistic regression models.
Results: There were 2557 (42%) statin users among cases having cataract surgery compared to 2038 (34%) statin users among controls never having had cataract surgery (p < 0.0001). Incident cataract surgery was significantly associated with increased odds of statin use (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.19–1.55) after adjusting for age, sex, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease, renal disease, oral and inhaled steroid use, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor use. The association was consistent in both subgroups of women (OR 1.34, 95%CI 1.22–1.49) and men (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.05–1.30).
Conclusions: Incident cataract surgery was associated with increased odds of statin use, and underscores the possibility that increasing statin use could be contributing to rising rates of cataract surgery.
Acknowledgments
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.
This study was supported, in part, by the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, Rochester, MN and Research to Prevent Blindness Inc., New York, NY. Study data were obtained from the Rochester Epidemiology Project, which is supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01AG034676. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.