Childhood Inhalers Could Spell Cataracts in Old Age

In children, evidence in the literature suggests that low to medium doses of inhaled corticosteroids don’t pose much of a cataract risk. Adults, on the other hand, especially those with long-term corticosteroid exposure, have a much higher risk of cataract development. Older patients may need careful long-term corticosteroid dose management and monitoring. Photo: Joseph Sowka, OD. Click image to enlarge. Corticosteroid use has been associated with an increased risk of cataract development. Given that inhaled corticosteroids are commonly prescribed for childhood asthma, researchers investigated their long-term effects, as the impact on cataract formation in adulthood remains unclear. Their findings were published in International Ophthalmology.The register-based study included 1,394 Danish adults diagnosed with childhood asthma who spent four months at an asthma care facility between 1950 and 1979. The researchers identified a cataract prevalence of 6.1% in the childhood asthma cohort compared to 4.3% in controls. Those with childhood asthma had higher odds of cataract (OR 1.47), and those treated with inhaled corticosteroids had an increasing risk with higher dosage and treatment duration. The researchers didn’t identify any significant differences in cataract risk between those with childhood asthma who didn’t receive inhaled corticosteroids and controls.“Individuals diagnosed with childhood asthma exhibited 1.4 times higher odds of developing cataract than the control group,” the researchers wrote in their International Ophthalmology paper. “These results highlight the need for careful monitoring of cataract development in patients undergoing inhaled corticosteroid treatment and the potential ocular side effects when prescribing inhaled corticosteroids.”Click here for the journal source. Savran O, Bach-Holm D, Nørregaard JC, et al. Childhood asthma, inhaled corticosteroid exposure, and risk of cataract in adulthood: a register-based study. International Ophthalmology 2025;45:211.