American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 118, No. 2: 250-264
Copyright © 1983 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
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ASSOCIATIONS AMONG CATARACT PREVALENCE, SUNLIGHT HOURS, AND ALTITUDE IN THE HIMALAYAS1
2Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 48109
3World Health Organization - His Majesty's Government of Nepal Blindness Prevention and Control Programme, World Health Organization Kath-mandu, Nepal
4Seva Foundation Chelsea, MI
5Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI
6Department of Ophthalmology. Medical School, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI
7Prevention of Blindness Programme, World Health Organization Regional Office for Southeast Asia New Delhi, India
Reprint requests to Dr. Lawrence Brilliant.
Brilliant, L. B. (School of Public Health, U. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Ml 48109), N. C. Grasset, R. P. Pokhrel, A. Kolstad, J. M. Lepkowski, G. E. Brilliant, W. N. Hawks and R. Pararajasegaram. Associations among cataract prevalence, sunlight hours, and altitude in the Himalayas. Am J Epidemiol 1983; 118: 250–64.
The relationship between cataract prevalence, altitude, and sunlight hours was investigated in a large national probability sample survey of 105 sites in the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal, December 1980 through April 1981. Cataract of senile or unknown etiology was diagnosed by ophthalmologists in 873 of 30, 565 full-time life-long residents of survey sites. Simultaneously, the altitude of sites was measured using a standard mountain altimeter. Seasonally adjusted average dally duration of sunlight exposure for each site was calculated by a method which took into account latitude and obstructions along the skyline. Age- and sex-standardized cataract prevalence was 2.7 times higher in sites at an altitude of 185 meters or less than in sites over 1000 meters. Cataract prevalence was negatively correlated with altitude (r = -0.533, p < 0.0001). However, a positive correlation between cataract prevalence and sunlight was observed (r = 0.563, p < 0.0001). Sites with an average of 12 hours of sunlight exposure had 3.8 times as much cataract as sites with an average of only seven hours of exposure, Sunlight was blocked from reaching certain high altitude sites by tall neighboring nountains.
health surveys; ophthalmology; ultraviolet rays
1From the Nepal Blindness Survey, an undertaking of the World Health Organization Prevention of Blindness Programme; the Ministry of Health, His Majesty's Government of Nepal; the Seva Foundation; and the University of Michigan.
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