Dietary and lifestyle patterns in the aetiology of cataracts in Nigerian patients.

The objective of the study was to assess the dietary and lifestyle habits of patients with cataracts. A food frequency questionnaire was used to collect information on the consumption of a wide variety of food items especially fruits, vegetables and animal and dairy products. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on smoking and alcohol consumption habits. The study was conducted on 62 subjects made up of 31 patients with cataracts attending the Ophthalmology clinic of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria and 31 control subjects without cataracts. There were 20 males and 11 females in each group. The study showed that higher percentages of controls than patients had adequate intakes of fruits and vegetables. Vitamin supplement usage was also higher in controls than patients. There was a strong negative association between past history of smoking, alcohol consumption and cataract. We could not demonstrate a relationship between body mass index (BMI) and cataract in the present study.