Rheumatoid arthritis, also known as inflammatory rheumatism, is an inflammatory disease that causes joint deformation and manifests itself with inflammation in the joints. Well, does rheumatoid arthritis, which can have a negative effect on many parts of the body, have an effect on the eye? The results will be interesting to you, but scientific research on this subject reveals that there is a relationship between rheumatoid arthritis and cataract disease.
The Relationship Between Rheumatoid Arthritis and Cataract
Let us start by stating that the scientific research was conducted on individuals of European and Asta origin. According to the research, there is a strong genetic relationship between rheumatoid arthritis, glaucoma and cataracts.
The results of the study revealed that oxidative stress caused by rheumatoid arthritis has a negative effect on the eyes and increases the risk of diseases such as cataracts.
In the study, 372,386 cataract patients and 377,277 glaucoma patients from the European population were evaluated. When all patients were evaluated, it was concluded that RA disease increased the risk of cataract formation by 55% and increased the risk of glaucoma by 66%.
In the evaluation conducted in patients of Asian origin outside Europe, it was found that RA disease only increased the risk of cataract formation in Asian patients. It seems that RA disease has no direct effect on the risk of glaucoma in Asian patients.
As we mentioned in the introduction, the main reason for the increase in risk is the oxidative stress effect caused by RA disease. Oxidative stress, which has a negative effect on the eyes, causes the eye to wear out even more and this increases the risk of cataracts.
Source
- https://www.reviewofoptometry.com/article/rheumatoid-arthritis-causes-greater-cataract-glaucoma-risk
