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A new report in the journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, reports that smoking may increase the risk of age-related cataracts, which is the leading cause of blindness and vision loss in the world.

A team of Chinese researchers conducted meta-analysis using 12 cohorts and eight case-control studies from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and North America, to compare the prevalence of age-related cataract in individuals who smoke(d) cigarettes with those who never smoked.

Results showed that every individual that ever smoked cigarettes was associated with an increased risk of age-related cataract, with a higher risk of incidence in current smokers.

"Although cataracts can be removed surgically to restore sight, many people remain blind from cataracts due to inadequate surgical services and high surgery expenses," said author Juan Ye, MD, PhD, of the Institute of Ophthalmology, Zhejiang University in China. "Identifying modifiable risk factors for cataracts may help establish preventive measures and reduce the financial as well as clinical burden caused by the disease."

While researcher mention hopes for further epidemiological studies on why smoking is specifically related to a subtype of age-related cataracts, specifically "nuclear cataract, when the clouding is in the central nucleus of the eye, and subscapular cataract, when the clouding is in the rear of the lens capsule," health officials find that this additional side-affect of smoking may be kept in mind for older adults, not excluding current smokers.