Francisco J. Rosales

Milk, lactose and ethanol as dietary factors in cataractogenesis in Guatemala. A case-control study

We performed a case-control study in 46 Guatemalan adults aged 26 to 79 years with a recent history of cataract extraction and 46 controls matched for sex, age (±5 years), and altitude of residence (±400m). The aetiological variables studied included: (i) effect of lactose digesting capacity as reflected by chance in breath hydrogen concentration; (ii) effect of the tolerance to a 240 ml challenge of milk containing 12 g of lactose; (iii) effect of usual lactose consumption; and (iv) effect of ethanol consumption. Adjusted relative risks, calculated using the matched-pair method, were 4.2 for a history of milk consumption, and 16.0 for a history of ethanol use. Non-suggestive associations were found for the milk tolerance challenge test and for lactose digesting capacity according to breath hydrogen concentration. We concluded that, in a Guatemalan population, ethanol is a more important risk factor than milk exposure, but both can influence cataract risk.