AIM logo
Alcohol in
Moderation
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Aim Digest
  • About AIM
  • AIM Council
Subscribe
Log in
  • All articles
  • All critiques
  • All-cause mortality& alcohol
  • Cancer& alcohol
    • Breast cancer
    • Colorectal cancers
    • Head and neck cancers
    • Lung cancer
    • Prostate cancer
  • Diabetes& alcohol
  • Heart& alcohol
    • Arrhythmia
    • Cardiovascular disease
    • Coronary heart disease
    • Cholesterol
    • Heart attack
    • Heart failure
    • Hypertension
  • Antioxidants& alcohol
  • Bone mineral density& alcohol
  • The brain& alcohol
    • Cognitive decline
  • General health& alcohol
  • J-shaped curve& alcohol
  • The kidneys& alcohol
  • The liver& alcohol
  • Mediterranean diet& alcohol
  • Moderate drinking
  • Old age& alcohol
    • Cognitive decline
  • Parkinsons’ disease& alcohol
  • Rheumatoid arthritis& alcohol
  • Stroke
  • Women& alcohol
    • Breast cancer
    • Pregnancy
Choose a Topic
March 2021
General health

Alcohol consumption and incident cataract surgery in two large UK cohorts

Alcohol consumption and incident cataract surgery in two large UK cohorts
A research project examined the association of alcohol consumption and type of alcoholic beverage with incident cataract surgery in two large cohorts.
469,387 participants of UK Biobank with a mean age of 56 years, and 23,162 participants of EPIC-Norfolk with a mean age of 59 years were included in the study. Participants self-reported alcohol consumption at baseline.
There were 19,011 (mean cohort follow-up of 95 months) and 4,573 (mean cohort follow-up of 193 months) incident cases of cataract surgery in UK Biobank and EPIC-Norfolk, respectively. Compared to non-drinkers, drinkers were less likely to undergo cataract surgery in UK Biobank (HR 0.89, 95% CI 0.85-0.93) and EPIC-Norfolk (HR 0.90, 95% CI 0.84-0.97) after adjusting for covariables. Among alcohol consumers, greater alcohol consumption was associated with a reduced risk of undergoing cataract surgery in EPIC-Norfolk (P<0.001), while a U-shaped association was observed in the UK Biobank. Compared with non-drinkers, sub-group analysis by type of alcohol beverage showed the strongest protective association with wine consumption; the risk of incident cataract surgery was 23% and 14% lower among those in the highest category of wine consumption in EPIC-Norfolk and UK Biobank, respectively.
The researchers say that their findings suggest a lower risk of undergoing cataract surgery with low to moderate alcohol consumption. The association was particularly apparent with wine consumption, although they qualify their results by adding that they cannot exclude the possibility of residual confounding and further studies are required to determine whether this association is causal in nature.
Source: Chua SY, Luben RN, Hayat S, Broadway DC, Khaw KT, Warwick A, Britten A, Day AC, Strouthidis N, Patel PJ, Khaw PT, Foster PJ, Khawaja AP; UK Biobank Eye and Vision Consortium. Alcohol Consumption and Incident Cataract Surgery in Two Large UK Cohorts. Ophthalmology. 2021 Feb 8:S0161-6420(21)00114-7..
doi.org/10.1016/j.ophtha.2021.02.007
Drinking & You logo
Drinking & You
A global portal providing advice about responsible alcohol consumption, individual country government guidelines and your health.
Go to website
International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research logo
International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research
The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research (ISFAR) is a group of 45 specialist Professors and Medics who produce balanced and well researched analysis of emerging research papers alcohol and health.
Go to website

To receive notification of updates to the website, please subscribe here

Name(Required)

Topics

Harmful consumption

& alcohol

Healthy lifestyle

& alcohol

Genetics

& alcohol

Depression

& alcohol

Mental health

& alcohol

All-cause mortality

& alcohol

Cancer

& alcohol

Diabetes

& alcohol

Heart

& alcohol

Antioxidants

& alcohol

Bone mineral density

& alcohol

The brain

& alcohol

General health

& alcohol

Gut health

& alcohol

J-shaped curve

& alcohol

The kidneys

& alcohol

The liver

& alcohol

Mediterranean diet

& alcohol

Metabolic syndrome/weight

& alcohol

Moderate drinking

Old age

& alcohol

Parkinsons' disease

& alcohol

Rheumatoid arthritis

& alcohol

Stroke

& alcohol

Women

& alcohol

Latest articles

Physical activity, alcohol consumption, and digestive system cancer risk: a large prospective cohort study

Alcohol consumption and mortality among stroke survivors: A NHANES observational cohort study with mediation analysis

Put in perspective – How the Mediterranean way of drinking may affect cancer risk

Alcohol consumption patterns and long-term anxiety: The influence of sex, age, and income

Association between alcohol consumption and musculoskeletal pain among employed and retired British civil servants

Aim Digest

May 2026

April 2026

December 2025

November 2025

October 2025

© Alcohol In Moderation, 2026.
Web design by Rubber Duckers
Close menu
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Aim Digest
  • About AIM
  • AIM Council
Subscribe
Log in
Close menu
  • All articles
  • All critiques
  • All-cause mortality& alcohol
  • Cancer& alcohol
    • ← Back
    • Breast cancer
    • Colorectal cancers
    • Head and neck cancers
    • Lung cancer
    • Prostate cancer
  • Diabetes& alcohol
  • Heart& alcohol
    • ← Back
    • Arrhythmia
    • Cardiovascular disease
    • Coronary heart disease
    • Cholesterol
    • Heart attack
    • Heart failure
    • Hypertension
  • Antioxidants& alcohol
  • Bone mineral density& alcohol
  • The brain& alcohol
    • ← Back
    • Cognitive decline
  • General health& alcohol
  • J-shaped curve& alcohol
  • The kidneys& alcohol
  • The liver& alcohol
  • Mediterranean diet& alcohol
  • Moderate drinking
  • Old age& alcohol
    • ← Back
    • Cognitive decline
  • Parkinsons’ disease& alcohol
  • Rheumatoid arthritis& alcohol
  • Stroke
  • Women& alcohol
    • ← Back
    • Breast cancer
    • Pregnancy