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We investigated the association between cataract and allergic diseases, including atopic dermatitis (AD), allergic rhinitis (AR), and asthma using 2,631,015 subjects’ data from the 2009 National Health Insurance Service-Health Screening Cohort in Korea. Each allergic disease was defined as three or more occasions of diagnosis within 1 year with dedicated ICD-10 codes. The primary endpoint was newly received cataract surgery during the follow-up period. In total, 447,883 subjects had at least one allergic disease. During the mean follow-up of 7.8 ± 1.7 years, newly developed cataract surgery was observed in 301,693 subjects (allergic group, n = 69,321; non-allergic group, n = 232,372). After adjusting for demographic characteristics (age, sex), systemic and ocular comorbidities, socioeconomic status, and lifestyle factors (smoking, drinking, regular exercise), the allergic group had a higher hazard ratio (HR) for cataract development compared with the non-allergic group. We further performed a subgroup analysis for patients regarding sex and age. In the subgroup analysis of subjects with AD, men aged < 50 years had a higher HR compared to women of the same age group. In conclusion, subjects with allergic diseases had a higher risk of cataract surgery than their counterparts, and the combination of AD and AR resulted in the highest risk. Particularly, the association was more evident in male than female patients with AD aged < 50 years.

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Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of spot vision screener in detecting refractive errors as amblyogenic risk factor in preschool Korean children.Methods: This prospective study included 51 children aged between 3 to 6 who underwent complete ophthalmologic evaluation including measurement of refraction using Spot^TM Vision Screener (VS100S-2, Welch Allyn Inc., Skaneateles Falls, NY; version 3.0.02.32) and an autorefractometer before and after cycloplegia. The sensitivity and specificity of Spot photoscreening for the detection of amblyogenic risk factors were calculated. We compared the outcome measures of refractive error using spot vision screener and the autorefractometer of non-cycloplegics and cycloplegics.Results: For detection of amblyogenic risk factor by refractive errors, spot vision screener had 90.5% sensitivity, 44.4% specificity, 88.4% positive predictive value and 50.0% negative predictive value. There was a significant difference between non-cycloplegic photoscreening and cycloplegic autorefraction (mean +0.86 diopter [D], <i>p</i> < 0.001), which was more prominent in hyperopic eyes (+2.71 ± 1.17 vs. +5.00 ± 1.39 D, <i>p</i> < 0.001) compared with myopic eyes (-2.51 ± 1.41 D vs. -2.58 ± 1.32 D, <i>p</i> = 0.599).Conclusions: Spot vision screener can help to detect vision issues quickly and easily in young children. Spot vision screener achieved acceptable sensitivity and positive predictive value in Korean preschool aged children, supporting the use of automated vision screening.