Time trend of prevalence of self-reported cataract and its association with prolonged sitting in Taiwan from 2001 and 2013

BACKGROUND Prolong sitting has been found associated with metabolic disorders. Little is known about the self-reported cataract status in general population of Taiwan, not to mention its relation to prolong sitting. We aimed to examine the prevalence of cataract between 2001 and 2013 in Taiwan and to the association between prolonged sitting and cataract. METHODS We used three data sets with those aged 40 years and older from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) from 2001 (n = 8334), 2009 (n = 11207), and 2013 (n = 10940). Subsequent statistical analyses involved chi-square test, t test, and logistic regression modeling. SUDAAN was used to account for sampling scheme. RESULTS The prevalence of cataract ranged from 10.7% in 2001, 13.13% in 2009, to 11.84% in 2013. Participants who sat for more than 7 hours per day had a significantly higher risk of cataract (OR = 1.20, CI = (1.04-1.39)) compared with those who sat for fewer than 3 hours per day after controlling for age and other risk factors like being older or female, lower education level, not being currently employed, living in a highly urbanized area, having hypertension, diabetes, myopia, and being an former smoker (compared to a never smoker). CONCLUSION Increased daily sitting time was associated with cataract, especially for people who sat more than 7 hours per day.