Where your DNA places you among other people, and the studies behind it.
Not tailored to your result, and not medical advice
Protect Your Eyes from UV Light: Long-term ultraviolet exposure is a recognized risk factor for cataract. Wearing sunglasses that block 100% of UVA and UVB rays, along with a wide-brimmed hat in bright sun, is a simple way to limit cumulative UV exposure to the lens. Not smoking and keeping blood sugar well controlled if you have diabetes also help reduce risk. American Academy of Ophthalmology
Get Regular Eye Exams: Cataracts develop gradually and can be picked up during a comprehensive dilated eye exam before they noticeably affect vision. Because cataract is common after 60, routine eye exams in older adults help track changes over time and identify when treatment may be worthwhile. If a cataract eventually interferes with daily activities, surgery to replace the lens is safe and highly effective. National Eye Institute
How much of this is genetic?
Genetics explains 48% of why people differ in this trait. The rest is environment, daily habits and chance.
Heritability estimate: Hammond et al. 2001, IOVS (Twin Eye Study)
Background and further reading
A cataract is a clouding of the eye's natural lens, which sits behind the iris and pupil and focuses light onto the retina. It is the single leading cause of blindness worldwide, responsible for roughly 17 million cases of blindness - close to 40% of all global blindness - and tens of millions more cases of moderate-to-severe visual impairment [1]. Most cataracts develop slowly with age. In the United States, more than 24 million people aged 40 and older have cataracts, and by age 80 the majority of Americans either have a cataract or have had surgery to remove one [2]. Unlike most causes of blindness, cataract-related vision loss is reversible: surgery to replace the clouded lens is one of the most common and most successful operations performed, restoring useful vision in about 9 out of 10 cases [2].
Genetic Basis: Inherited factors contribute substantially to age-related cataract. Classic twin studies estimate heritability at roughly 48% for nuclear cataract and around 53-58% for cortical cataract, with age and shared environment accounting for much of the rest [3]. A large multiethnic genome-wide association meta-analysis of more than 580,000 people identified 54 genetic loci associated with cataract - 37 of them previously unknown - and also found sex-specific effects [4]. Implicated genes include EPHA2, which helps maintain lens architecture, and crystallin genes such as CRYAA that encode the structural proteins keeping the lens transparent [4]. These variants are thought to influence lens protein stability, the response to oxidative stress, and the long-term clarity of the lens.
Environmental Factors: Most cataract risk is non-genetic, and several modifiable factors raise risk. Older age, cumulative ultraviolet (UV) light exposure, smoking, diabetes, and long-term corticosteroid use are all recognized risk factors [2]. Heavy alcohol use and poor nutrition have also been associated with cataract, though much of this evidence is observational rather than proven to be causal. Reasonable protective measures include UV-blocking sunglasses, not smoking, and good control of blood sugar in people with diabetes [2].
The published research behind your score, and the variants it draws on.
5 published scores from 3 studies
The cataract score combines 5 polygenic scores drawn from 3 published studies.
National Eye Institute Cataracts. National Eye Institute (NIH) (2023)
These traits are influenced by some of the same genes and variants as this one
Glaucoma: Progressive optic nerve damage, often driven by elevated pressure inside the eye.
Content updated August 2026.
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