You may want to keep tabs on your patients� aspirin intake. New research indicates that aspirin doesn�t prevent cataracts; in fact, using it regularly for a long period of time may contribute to lens clouding.

Dr. Robert Cumming and associates of the University of Sydney in Australia analyzed data from 3,654 people aged 49 to 97 to reach these conclusions. People who reported aspirin usage of one or more per week for 10 years were more than twice as likely to develop cataracts as other people. The association was strongest in people under 65.

Other drugs that the researchers found to increase the risk of cataracts were amiodarone, mepacrine and phenothiazines, none of which is in widespread use.