Background and Aim: Cataract is one of the public health problems worldwide and it is the most important cause of blindness. The aim of this study was to evaluate some risk factors of cataract including history of hypertension, body mass index (BMI), smoking, literacy, and type of job in the patients.
Materials and Methods: This case-control study was implemented on 176 patients with cataract (case group) and 176 healthy volunteers (control group) of referrals to Birjand Valiassr hospital. A general questionnaire was used to collect the information about history of hypertension, smoking, type of job and
education level. Case and control groups were matched by age and sex. Blood pressure, length and weight of patients were determined. Then data entered to SPSS software and analyzed with chi-square and regression logistic at α=0.05.
Results: History of hypertension was recorded in 29.5% of the cases and in 19.3% of the control group (P=0.026). In terms of education, 88.1% were illiterate in the case group and 64.2% in the control group (P<0.001). Job title with significant difference included only farmers (35.2% in the case group and 22.2% in the control group; P<0.001). Smoking was observed in 18.8% of the cases and in 10.8% of the controls (P<0.001), were higher in case groups then control group; But body mass index (BMI) was higher in control group (6.8% in the case group and 16.5% in the control group) (P<0.001).
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that hypertension; smoking and low literacy are the risk factors for Cataract. These findings indicate a need for health promotion activities to control these risk factors.