Statin as a Risk Factor for Cataract in Cases of Antioxidant Gene Polymorphism in Pakistani Population

Abstract

Introduction: Cataract is main cause of reversible blindness and visual impairment. Risk factors include anti-hyperlipidemic drugs such as statin. However, the mechanism of statins as a risk factor for cataracts is not clear. The antioxidant effect of statin is reported in some studies while other studies showed negative results. This study was conducted to understand the association of cataract in statin users with antioxidant gene abnormalities. Objective: To investigate the risk factor of statin in the formation of cataracts in the Pakistani population. Methods: This was a multi-centric case-control study in Karachi, Pakistan between September 2019 and 2020. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at rs2070424 locus for superoxide dismutase (SOD1) gene, at rs1050450  for glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and rs7943316 locus for catalase (CAT), were examined with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using high resolution melting curve (HRM) technique in 250 cataract patients. Results: The risk ratio with statin was seen and found that it was 1.5 times increased in SOD1 gene mutations, the statin benefit was 1.2 times reduced in GPX gene mutation and ratio was 1.1 in the CAT gene mutations. Conclusion: Statin is a risk factor for cataracts in those patients who have mutated antioxidant genes. The risk ratio of cataracts was found to be increased in the mutated genes of patients compared with non-mutated ones. This study proved the effect of statin as a risk factor associated with antioxidant genes in the development of cataracts in the Pakistani population.