Cataract and the role of a healthy lifestyle

Uvod: Siva mrena je vodilni vzrok nastanka slepote in različnih stopenj poslabšanja vida na svetu. Prizadene lahko vsakega. Bolj prizadeti so v nerazvitih državah in državah v razvoju, predvsem z vidikov dostopnosti in možnosti obravnave, ki sta tam manjše. Problem pri zdravstvenih delavcih predstavlja pomanjkanje znanja o tem, kar onemogoča ustrezno preventivno delovanje in zdravstveno vzgojo. Namen: Namen diplomskega dela je predstaviti sivo mreno in z metasintezo znanstvene literature potrditi naslednje trditve: uživanje previsokih ali prenizkih količin vitamina C vpliva na razvoj sive mrenepri kadilcih je tveganje za pojav sive mrene večjediabetes je pomemben dejavnik pri nastanku sive mrene. Metode dela: Metoda dela je deskriptivna. Opravljena sta pregled literature obravnavanega problema in metasinteza znanstvenih študij. Uporabili smo spletni portal COBISS.si ter podatkovne baze COBIB.si, Cochrane, Cinahl with full text, Medline, Medline plus, Wiley in NIH (National Institutes of Health). Rezultati: Meta sinteza kliničnih in znanstvenih študij je bila narejena po štiri-stopenjskem vrednotenju z lestvico avtorjev Eccles in Mason. Največjo veljavo imajo dokazi prve stopnje, označeni z I, najmanjšo pa tisti četrte stopnje, ki so označeni s stopnjo IV. Meta sinteza nam pokaže, kako zelo pomembno vlogo ima zdrav življenjski slog pri nastanku sive mrene, saj lahko vpliva na njen nastanek ali upočasni njen razvoj. Potrjene so bile vse tri postavljene trditve: uživanje previsokih ali prenizkih količin vitamina C vpliva na razvoj sive mrenepri kadilcih je tveganje za pojav sive mrene večje ter trditev, da je diabetes pomemben dejavnik pri nastanku sive mrene. Razprava in sklep: Na nekatere dejavnike nastanka sive mrene nimamo vpliva. Pri tistih, na katere lahko vplivamo, je najpomembnejši zdrav življenjski slog, predvsem uživanje zadostne količine vitamina C, prenehanje kajenja in ustrezno vodenje sladkorne bolezni. Pomembno je poudariti tudi nezadovoljivo znanje zdravstvenih delavcev, ki predstavlja oviro pri izvajanju zdravstvene vzgoje in preprečevanju pojava ter širjenja bolezni. Izzivi za prihodnost so iskanje novih možnosti preprečevanja nastanka bolezni in zdravljenja ter izboljšanja obstoječih načinov zdravljenja.Introduction: Cataract is the leading cause of blindness and different levels of visual impairment worldwide. It can impact anyone, however, the most affected are developing countries, mainly because of lesser treatment capabilities and lower general availability of surgical treatment. Lack of knowledge about cataract among healthcare workers presents a problem, because it affects our ability to implement preventive measures and perform the appropriate health education. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to define cataract and confirm three hypotheses through a meta-synthesis of scientific studies: consuming not enough or too much vitamin C affects cataract developmentsmokers are at a bigger risk to develop cataracts and the third hypothesis that diabetes is an important factor in cataract development. Methods: A descriptive method was used. We performed a literature review about cataract and meta-synthesis of scientific studies. Literature search methods included COBISS.si portal and different databases, COBIB.si, Cochrane, Cinahl with full text, Medline, Medline plus, Wiley and NIH (National Institutes of Health). Results: Meta-synthesis of clinical and scientific studies was performed using a four-level scale by Eccles and Mason. The highest valued arguments are marked as level I, whilst the lowest are marked with a IV. Meta-synthesis shows that healthy lifestyle plays a very important role in cataracts, because it can affect the development of a cataract as well as cataract progression. All three hypotheses were confirmed: consuming not enough or too much vitamin C affects cataract development, smokers are at a bigger risk to develop cataracts and the last hypothesis that diabetes is an important factor in cataract development Discussion and conclusion: We cannot influence all the risk factors. Most important ones that can be affected include consumption of appropriate vitamin C levels, smoking cessation and correct diabetes treatment. Low level of knowledge about cataracts among healthcare workers presents an obstacle in health education, thus preventing us in implementing preventive measures