Association of Serum Levels of Vitamin C, Carotenoids and Retinol with Cataract.

Introduction: Nutrients like carotenoids, vitamin E and vitamin C function as antioxidants and hence can influence the process of cataractogenesis owing to their ability to scavenge the free radicals and thereby reduce oxidative damage to lens tissues

Aims: To study the association of serum levels of vitamin C, carotenoids and retinol with cataract Settings and Design: hospital-based case control study carried out at the Department of Ophthalmology of a tertiary eye care center of Lucknow Methods and Material: 240 individuals above 50 years of age were recruited, including 120 cases (Group I) of age-related cataract patients (graded according to LOCSIII) and 120 Age matched Non cataractous controls (group II). The study subjects underwent biochemical evaluation for vitamin C, Alpha tocopherol, beta carotene and retinol.

Results: Group II subjects had significantly higher ascorbic acid, -carotene, retinol and -tocopherol levels (p<0.001) than Cataractous cases but there was no significant association between type of cataract and any of these parameters (p>0.05) or between the different grades of nuclear cataract and the parameters (p>0.05)

Conclusions: Some essential nutrients like Ascorbic acid, -carotene, Retinol and -tocopherol could have a role in the pathogenesis of senile cataract, hence standarad cut-off values for different antioxidant micronutrients need to be derived for better evaluation of cataractogenesis.

Key Messages: Essential nutrients like Ascorbic acid, -carotene, Retinol and -tocopherol could have a role in the pathogenesis of senile cataract. Larger population based studies are needed to derive a cut-off value for these factors for better evaluation of cataractogenesis