Liu PK, Chang YC, Wang NK, et al. - Patients with sleep apnea (SA) carried a significantly higher risk for developing cataract, therefore, awareness regarding this ophthalmic complication is required among physicians caring for patients with SA.

• Using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database, this 18-year nationwide retrospective population-based cohort study was conducted.

• Suspected SA cohort with 6,438 patients was matched with 32,190 controls (control A cohort), including 3,616 patients in the SA cohort matched with 18,080 controls (control B cohort).

• The SA cohorts showed significantly higher incidence rates of cataract, vs corresponding control cohorts, post-adjustment for age, gender, residency, income level, and comorbidities.

• SA conferred an independent risk for incident cataract (adjusted hazard ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.4 [1.2–1.6]).

• In SA patients, independent risk factors for incident cataract included elder age, heart disease, chronic pulmonary disease, and diabetes.