Healthy Diets and the Subsequent Prevalence of Nuclear Cataract in Women

Abstract

Cataracts, which increase in prevalence with age, are the most important cause of blindness in the world.¹ In the United States, cataract is the most prevalent cause of visual impairment due to eye disease,² and surgery to remove lenses with cataracts accounts for approximately 60% of vision-related Medicare expenditures.³ The number of Americans affected by cataract and undergoing cataract surgery is expected to increase dramatically in the next 20 years as the US population ages.⁴ As more aging Americans need cataract surgery, there is concern about the ability of health care systems, particularly Medicare, to fund cataract surgery.³ Therefore, identifying modifiable risk factors is of critical importance to improving health of older Americans and to the economic stability of the health care system.