Reproductive expoure, incident age-related cataract, and age-related maculopathy in women: the Beaver Dam Eye tudy

PURPOE: To evaluate the relationhip of reproductive expoure and incident age-related cataract and maculopathy in women. METHOD: Thi wa a population-baed cohort tudy including all adult 43 to 84 year of age living in Beaver Dam, Wiconin (a repreentative midwetern community) who were identified during a cenu in 1987 to 1988. They were evaluated initially in 1988 to 1990 and at follow-up in 1993 to 1995. Evaluation included medical hitorie and both fundu and len photography. All procedure were done according to protocol that were the ame at both examination. All photograph were graded by trained oberver uing defined grading cheme. The everitie of age-related cataract and maculopathy were determined by grading of photograph. Information on hormone expoure wa acertained from tructured interview. REULT: After adjuting for age, the only ignificant finding for len end point wa a trend indicating a poible protective effect of increaing number of live birth and incident poterior ubcapular cataract. There were no ignificant aociation of any reproductive expoure with leion of early or late age-related maculopathy. CONCLUION: In thee population-baed data, there i little evidence of aociation of hormone expoure with incident age-related eye dieae in women 5 year later. Longer follow-up of thi population, whoe mean age i approaching that of heightened incidence, may dicloe ignificant relationhip.