Table 3.

HDL-C and Age-Related Cataracts—Epidemiological Links from Observational Studies (Selected).

Author (Year)	Study Design	Study Population	Results/Findings
Li S et al. (2018) [73]	Cross sectional case control	219 cases 218 controls age ≥ 45 years Adults in China	HDL-C level did not differ significantly between the age-related cataract group and control group (p-value = 0.231). OR not calculated.
Park et al. (2015) [71]	Population based cross-sectional	n = 2852 Age ≥ 40 years Adults in South Korea	Low HDL-C was not significantly associated with any type of cataract.
Park et al. (2014) [70]	Population based cross-sectional	n = 11,076 Age ≥ 31 years Adults in South Korea	Reduced HDL-C levels were significantly associated with cataract in women (OR = 1.27; 95% CI = 1.07–1.50). Upon subgroup analysis, reduced HDL-C levels were significantly associated with nuclear cataract in women (OR = 1.25; 95%CI = 1.03–1.52). Such associations were not found in men.
Ghaem Maralani et al. (2013) [64]	Population-based prospective cohort study10-year follow-up	n = 1997 Age > 48 years Adults in Australia	Low HDL-C was significantly associated with increased incidence of cortical cataract at 10-year follow-up (HR = 1.57; 95%CI = 1.10–2.24, p-value = 0.013).
Sabanayagam et al. (2011) [61]	Population-based cross-sectional study	n = 2794 Age 40–80 years Singapore Malay Eye Study Malay Adults in Singapore	Insignificant association found between low-serum HDL-C and cataract. (Multivariate OR = 1.11; 95%CI = 0.88–1.40; p-value = 0.4) Low HDL defined as (< 1.0 and < 1.3 mmol/L in male and female, respectively).
Paunksnis et al. (2007) [69]	Population based cross-sectional	n = 1282 Age 35–64 years Adults in Lithuania	Insignificant increase in odds of cataract among women with decreased serum HDL-C (OR = 1.24, 95%CI = 0.77-1.99, p-value = 0.426).
Hiller et al. (2003) [68]	Case-control	n = 1684 Age ≥ 45 years Adults in USA	HDL-C < 35 mg/dl (< 0.9051 mmol/L) was significantly associated with decreased risk of Posterior subcapsular cataract in men (OR = 0.97; 95% CI = 0.94-0.99; p-value = 0.04). No significant associations noted between serum HDL-C and cortical or nuclear opacities.
Meyer et al. (2003) [67]	Cross-sectional	n = 115 Adults in South Africa	Subjects with serum HDL-C < 1.5 have seven-fold odds of falling in the cataract subgroup compared to those with HDL-C levels ≥ 1.5 mmol/l (OR = 7.33; 95% CI = 2.06–26.10; p-value = 0.001). Odds of falling into the cataract subgroup if the individual’s LDL:HDL ratio exceeded 5 was also significantly higher. (OR = 2.35; 95% CI = 1.09–5.04; p-value = 0.014).
CI, confidence interval; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; HR, hazard ratio; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; OR, odds ratio; RR, relative risk; SD, standard deviation. Selected studies are the most recent and relevant.