Abstract

Background: Oxidative stress in the lens of the eye causes cataracts, and plant-based diets can contain a wide range of antioxidants that protect against damage. However, homocysteine levels can rise in strict vegetarians who don’t get enough vitamin B-12, which could make them more likely to develop cortical cataracts. Investigating whether vegetarianism’s benefits outweigh its risks for cataract development is warranted [1, 2].
Objective: To investigate the potential link between cataract risk and a vegetarian diet in Taiwan
Design: The research was conducted as a prospective cohort study Participants and setting Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital was the location where 6,002 people were recruited for the Tzu Chi Health Study from 2007 to 2009. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to assess diet. Participants 40 and older who did not have cataracts at the time of recruitment (3,095 vegetarians and 1,341 nonvegetarians) were followed until they died or developed cataracts at the end of 2014 [3].

Cataract incident cases (International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification code 366) were linked to Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database to determine the primary outcome measures.
With age as the underlying scale, Cox proportional hazard regression was used to estimate the relationship between dietary patterns and cataract risk after controlling for potential confounders [4].
Results: Vegetarians consumed more soy, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, dietary fiber, vitamin C, folate, and vitamin A equivalent than nonvegetarians. 476 incident cases of cataracts were identified during the 25,103 personyears of follow-up. A vegetarian diet was linked to a 20 percent lower risk of cataracts (hazard ratio: 0.80; 95 percent confidence interval: 0.65 to 0.99; After controlling for sex, education, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity,Tzu Chi volunteer status, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, prescription of corticosteroids, and body mass index (Kg/m2), the results (P = 0.04) People who were overweight (defined as having a body mass index of less than 24 in Taiwan) had a stronger association with this [hazard ratio 0.70, 95% CI 0.50 to 0.99; P = 0.04]).
Conclusions: In the study’s overweight participants, a vegetarian diet was linked to a lower risk of cataracts.