Nonlinear Associations of Estimated Glucose Disposal Rate With Incident Age-Related Eye Diseases…

Cohort studyInvestigative ophthalmology & visual science· Jul 2026

Nonlinear Associations of Estimated Glucose Disposal Rate With Incident Age-Related Eye Diseases: Implications for Metabolic Risk Stratification.

Haoyu Yuan, Xinyue Song, Shaoqing Dai … Xiaorong Wu

OphthalmologyCohort studyPrognosisQ1IF 4.2

Higher insulin sensitivity linked to lower risk of cataract and macular degeneration

Nonlinear Associations of Estimated Glucose Disposal Rate With Incident Age-Related Eye Diseases: Implications for Metabolic Risk Stratification.

Haoyu Yuan … Xiaorong Wu

Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · Jul 2026 · Q1 in Ophthalmology

Purpose

To investigate the associations between the estimated glucose disposal rate (eGDR), a composite indicator of insulin sensitivity, and the risks of incident age-related cataract (age-related cataract) and AMD, with a focus on nonlinear dose-response patterns, age-specific heterogeneity, and genetic modification.

Methods

This prospective cohort study included 444,137 UK Biobank participants free of age-related cataract and AMD at baseline. eGDR was analyzed both as a continuous variable (per 1-SD increase) and by quartiles.

n = 444,137 UK Biobank participants

Results

7%

to 8%

risk of cataract and macular degeneration drops for every step up in insulin sensitivity

n = 444,137 UK Biobank participants

More results

A total of 29,215 incident age-related cataract cases and 8992 incident AMD cases were documented during follow-up.

The plateau range occurred at higher eGDR levels among participants aged <60 years than among those aged ≥60 years.

More results

Associations were stronger during extended follow-up periods and remained robust across landmark, competing-risk, and other sensitivity analyses.

Moreover, higher eGDR levels attenuated genetic susceptibility to age-related cataract and AMD across polygenic risk score strata.

“

Conclusion · 1 of 2

A higher eGDR is associated with lower risks of incident age-related cataract and AMD in a nonlinear and age-dependent manner.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

These findings highlight insulin sensitivity as a modifiable metabolic factor in ocular aging and support the potential value of metabolic risk stratification for age-related eye diseases.

Nonlinear Associations of Estimated Glucose Disposal Rate With Incident Age-Related Eye Diseases: Implications for Metabolic Risk Stratification.

Nonlinear Associations of Estimated Glucose Disposal Rate With Incident Age-Related Eye Diseases: Implications for Metabolic Risk Stratification.

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