Cataract Removal During Menopause

With cataracts affecting virtually everyone as they age and menopause typically occurring in the fifth decade of life, some women will inevitably undergo a removal operation during these years.

Before we discuss the risk (if any) associated with a cataract op during this time, it’s first important to understand a little more about menopause itself.

All About Menopause and Cataract Removal

• Understanding menopause
• Cataract removal during menopause and the pre and post years

Understanding menopause

Menopause is the term used when female ovulation stops. It’s defined by three distinct periods:

• Perimenopause: This is the term for the years leading up to menopause, typically commencing in the latter part of a woman’s fourth decade. During this time, many physical changes occur. Periods become increasingly erratic and symptoms, such as brain fog and hot flashes, may occur. This is due to the reduction of estrogen production within the body
• Menopause: This is defined as the time that a woman’s periods (and therefore, ovulation) have ceased for 12 months.
• Post-menopause: After menopause has happened, a woman is then said to be post-menopausal. Some physical symptoms tend to continue—often for many years. Night sweats and reduced libido are two of the most commonly reported.

The whole menopausal process can last for a decade or more. Many women find relief from some of the more unpleasant symptoms through hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

Cataract removal during menopause and the pre and post yeas

Hormonal changes during menopause are still understudied, as are more defined elements, such as cataract removal during this time. However, this is being addressed in countries around the world.

One of the largest studies has been carried out in the United Kingdom, where data from gleaned from 1,312,051 post-menopausal women who needed cataract surgery. The study was named the UK Million Women Study and—regarding cataract surgery—the following, positive results were recorded.

The data showed that even if women used hormone therapies, such as HRT, during menopause, this had little, if any, association with an increased risk during cataract surgery. Other interesting results include defining other elements that also presented little or no risk during surgery or, indeed, premature development of cataracts. These were:

• Reproductive history
• Alcohol use
• Physical activity

What did increase the risk factors were:

• Having diabetes
• Currently smoking more than 15 cigarettes per day
• Obesity/high BMI (body mass index)

It’s also interesting that being overweight also increases the risk of a woman suffering worse menopause symptoms, such as hot flashes.

However, as already mentioned, research into the link between hormones and cataract formation is still under-studied. Intel has suggested there may be a link—indeed, it’s believed that women have a higher risk than men of a similar age, although this has not yet been definitively proven.

The key takeaway from this is that advancing age for both sexes culminates in virtually everyone by the age of 80 either having cataracts or will have had them surgically removed. It’s the most widely performed operation in the world, with millions being performed annually in the US each year.

Having cataract surgery during menopause or when taking HRT poses no additional risk. However, there may be a chance that using any type of hormone therapy might increase the prevalence of cataracts forming a little earlier. But more research is needed to determine if this is truly the case.

Need Cataract Removal During Menopause? Contact the Modern Cataract Surgery Clinic

Whatever your time of life and situation, if you’re worried about cataracts then you need the ultimate care. Modern Cataract Surgery Clinic is the dedicated clinic for all things cataract and is part of the world-renowned West Boca Eye Center.

Discover more about the advanced diagnostic and treatment options on offer at https://www.moderncataractsurgery.com and call us today to schedule a consultation.