Research involving more than 6,000 adults has found that men who drink alcohol regularly are more likely to develop advanced presbyopia.
The study, published in Clinical Optometry by researchers at Japan’s Keio University School of Medicine, adds to growing evidence showing a link between lifestyle and loss of vision.
The researchers worked with 6258 patients aged between 40 and 79 between December 2018 and April 2024.
They measured near add power – the corrective lens strength needed to restore close-up vision.
“Drinking was a risk factor for near add power solely in men, and it was further confirmed that the mean near add power of male drinkers was higher than male non-drinkers,” the study authors said.
“The results with Kaplan-Meyer survival analysis were consistent with these findings. Collectively, drinking may be one of the potential risk factors for the sex difference in presbyopia.”
Interestingly, smoking status, HbA1c levels, and the presence of diabetic retinopathy were not significant factors.
Among the study population, 50.3% of men and 23.4% of women reported drinking at least twice a week.
The analysis showed that men reached the 1.50 D threshold representing symptomatic presbyopia significantly earlier than women, and that male drinkers reached the 2.50 D threshold of advanced presbyopia significantly earlier than male non-drinkers, particularly in the 50-to-59 age range.
The authors note that acetaldehyde, a byproduct of alcohol metabolism, induces cellular damage through reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial dysfunction, which may impair the ciliary muscle’s ability to accommodate and contribute to earlier lens stiffening.
They said their findings “should complement previous investigations and be helpful for healthcare education to emphasize the harmful effects of alcohol consumption on ocular health”.
