Monday, April 13, 2015

Cataracts Risk with Osteoporosis By Marc Michelson, M.D.

Most everyone knows that calcium is an important part of bone health and keeping bones strong. In fact calcium plays a key role in the development of osteoporosis, a disease in which bones lose their density, become fragile and are more likely to fracture. But did you know that calcium is also an important factor in cataract formation?

Research on Calcium, Osteoporosis & Cataract Risk
Researchers reporting in the journal Clinical Ophthalmology evaluated an association between cataracts, cataract surgery and osteoporosis. Their findings were interesting in that age, female sex, higher socioeconomic class, smoking, chronic renal failure, hyperthyroidism, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel diseases are all associated with an increased prevalence of osteoporosis. Then, through careful statistical modeling they also found that these factors and osteoporosis are ALL associated with an increased prevalence of cataracts. Thus, they concluded that osteoporosis is associated with the presence of cataracts which may be related to calcium imbalance, hormonal abnormalities, and even a shared genetic predisposition.

If you or someone you know is concerned about osteoporosis and their risk of cataracts, please schedule an eye examination at Alabama Eye & Cataract Center in Birmingham by calling 205-930-0930, visiting Alabama Eye & Cataract Center or http://www.facebook.com/michelsonlaservision.

Alabama Eye & Cataract Center is located at UAB-Highlands in Birmingham, 1201 11th Avenue S, Suite 501, Birmingham, Alabama 35205, and is staffed by UAB Medicine Cataract Surgeons Marc Michelson, M.D. and Tyler Hall, M.D.