Statin Use and Risk for Cataract: A Nested Case-Control Study of 2 Populations in Canada and the United States

The effect of statin use on lens density as assessed by pentacam hr® lens densitometry in adults

“…While some of them did not report an association between statin use and cataract (9,10,11,12), some found a protective effect of statins on cataract (5,6,7). Recently, few studies demonstrated an increased risk of cataract associated with statins (2,4,5,13,14). The majority of these studies are observational and dependent on the medical records derived from the national databases.…”

Statins and Cataracts: Reverse Causality?

“…In their analyses, participants with cataracts were significantly more likely to have all the risk factors for cataracts listed in Table 2 of the report by Wise et al, 1 including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, in the year preceding the index event.…”

“…To the Editor: The report of Wise et al, 1 on increased risk of cataracts among patients who receive statins, is burdened by the risk of reverse causality inherent in such observational studies. Perhaps the best known example of this problem is the report from a US Health Cooperative, (see Supplemental Reference S1) that patients taking calcium channel antagonists had a greater risk of myocardial infarction, leading to an enormous tempest in a teapot.…”

“…3 In the Excel lens study 4 (8245 patients followed for 48 months) there was no difference between placebo and lovastatin in development of cataracts or visual acuity. A meta-analysis of studies of cataracts in patients who received statins (Supplemental Reference S4), mentioned in the Editorial (Supplemental Reference S5) accompanying the article by Wise et al, 1 showed a significant (19%) reduction of cataracts in patients who received statins, with a greater (34%) reduction of the more difficult end point of cataract extractions, and occurrence of cataracts decreased further with more prolonged use of statins (by 46% over 14 years).…”

Statin use and risk of cataract: A nested case-control study within a healthcare database

“…After publication of this meta-analysis, Leuschen et al published a propensity score-matched analysis that indicated an increased risk of cataract among statin users as compared to non-users [14]. Furthermore, Lai et al conducted a retrospective cohort study using the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database of Taiwan, showing that statin therapy was associated with a modestly increased risk of cataract surgery [15], and Wise et al showed that statin use is significantly associated with cataract requiring surgical intervention in two large North American cohorts [16].…”