To examine the associations between alcohol consumption and ocular diseases in the
adult population of mainland China.
Population-based study.
The Beijing Eye Study, performed in 2001, included 4439 subjects (age 40+ years) of
5324 individuals invited to participate (response rate 83.4%). The study was conducted
in both a rural region (1973 subjects) and an urban region of Greater Beijing (2466
subjects).
All participants underwent an interview, including questions about alcohol consumption
and a detailed ophthalmic examination, including photography of the cornea, lens,
and fundus.
Consumption of alcohol and systemic and ophthalmic parameters.
Information on alcohol consumption was obtained on 4141 subjects (93.3%), of whom
549 (13.3%) reported they consumed beer or wine. In multivariate analysis, alcohol
consumption was significantly associated with the systemic parameters of lower age
(P = 0.001), male gender (P<0.001), rural region (P<0.001), lower level of education
(P = 0.01), and smoking (P<0.001). Alcohol consumption was not a significant risk
factor for the prevalences of age-related macular degeneration (P = 0.24), open-angle
glaucoma (P = 0.51), angle-closure glaucoma (P = 0.75), diabetic retinopathy (P =
0.35), retinal vein occlusion (P = 0.39), pterygium (P = 0.08), trachoma (P = 0.053),
epiretinal membrane (P = 0.09), non-glaucomatous optic nerve atrophy (P = 0.55), dry
eye (P = 0.86), cortical cataract (P = 0.67), subcapsular posterior cataract (P =
0.62), or nuclear cataract (P = 0.76), or with the ocular parameters of refractive
error (P = 0.99), intraocular pressure (P = 0.19), retinal artery diameters (temporal
inferior: P = 0.60), retinal vein diameters (temporal inferior: P = 0.41), or size
of alpha zone and beta zone of parapapillary atrophy (P = 0.68).
When adjusted for the systemic parameters of age, gender, rural/urban region, level
of education, and smoking, self-reported moderate consumption of alcohol does not
have a significant effect on the prevalence of major ocular diseases or the physiologic
parameters of intraocular pressure and refractive error.