An 8-year study concluded that postmenopausal women who had used hormone replacement therapy (HRT)showed considerably higher rates of cataract removal than those who had never used HRT.

In the study, researchers at Sundsvall Hospital, Sweden, assessed 4,300 cataract surgery patients between 1997 and 2005 and verified that the rate for cataract removal increased 14% in women who had used HRT and 18% in those currently using HRT compared to women who had never used them at all.  A longer period of HRT use was linked to a higher rate of cataract surgery.    

Naturally occurring endogenous estrogen appear to protect the eye from developing a cataract along with guarding cardiovascular and other bodily systems before menopause.  Exogenous estrogens like those in HRT do not function in the same way.

Postmenopausal women who have used HRT for a time may be at an increased risk for cataract extraction.  It should be noted that use of HRT does benefit middle-aged women suffering from postmenopausal symptoms, and its use may be necessary in certain patients.  The interval of use, however, should certainly be evaluated.

This study did not identify the brand of HRT nor the variety of Cataract. 

"HRT Use Linked to Cataracts in Women." Cataract & Refractive Surgery News Volume 10, no. 6 (June 2010):10

Cynthia Matossian, MD FACS