Pterygium, Pinguecula, and 5-year Incidence of Cataract

Purpoe To ae longitudinal aociation between pterygium, pinguecula, and 5-year incident cataract. Deign Population-baed cohort tudy. Method The Blue Mountain Eye tudy examined 3,654 reident aged ≥49 year during 1992 to 1994 and reexamined 2,335 (75.1% of urvivor) 5 year later. lit-lamp examination recorded pterygium and pinguecula. Cataract wa aeed uing maked grading of len photograph. Incidence wa aeed in participant without cataract at baeline. Eye-pecific data were analyzed uing generalized etimating equation model, adjuting for age, ex, moking, diabete, and corticoteroid ue. Reult Pinguecula wa aociated with a borderline-ignificant, increaed rik of developing cortical cataract (adjuted odd ratio, 1.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.0 to 1.7). We found no ignificant aociation between baeline pterygium and the incidence of cortical, nuclear, or poterior ubcapular cataract. Concluion Longitudinal data from the ame tudy population provide weak upport for cro-ectional aociation between pinguecula and cortical cataract previouly reported from our tudy.