Association of high-intensity evening light exposure with risk of incident age-related macular degeneration, cataract, and glaucoma: a prospective cohort study of 82,826 participants

Jun 2, 2026GeroScience

High-intensity evening light exposure linked to risk of age-related macular degeneration, cataract, and glaucoma

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Circadian Biology on OpenScience ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗OA ↗

Abstract

Among 82,826 participants, 6058 incident age-related eye disease cases occurred during a median follow-up of 7.85 years.

Evening light exposure exceeding 1000 lx is significantly associated with increased risks of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), cataracts, and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG).
The hazard ratio for incident AMD with high evening light exposure is 1.31, indicating a 31% higher risk.
For cataracts, the hazard ratio is 1.18, suggesting an 18% increased risk associated with significant light exposure.
A 47% higher risk of POAG is linked to evening light exposure greater than 1000 lx, with a hazard ratio of 1.47.
Per-hour exposure to light levels above 2250 lx raises the risk of overall age-related eye diseases and POAG.
These findings suggest that high-intensity artificial light in the evening may be a modifiable risk factor for aging-related eye conditions.

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Excessive artificial light at night (ALAN) disrupts circadian rhythms and may accelerate ocular aging; however, personal objective dosimetry data linking evening light exposure to specific age-related eye diseases (AREDs) remain sparse. The objective of the study is to determine whether personal high-intensity light exposure during the evening transition window (20:00-23:30) is associated with the risk of incident age-related macular degeneration (AMD), cataracts, and glaucoma. This prospective cohort study utilized data from the UK Biobank. Participants (n = 82,826) were monitored for 7 days via wrist-worn accelerometers equipped with high-resolution light sensors between 2013 and 2015. Individuals with baseline eye diseases were excluded. Average light intensity (lux) during the evening transition period (20:00-23:30) was categorized by percentiles (top 10% threshold ≈1000 lx). Incident AMD, cataract, and glaucoma were identified through linked hospital inpatient records and death registries using ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes. Among 82,826 participants, 6058 incident ARED cases occurred during a median follow-up of 7.85 years. Evening light exposure exceeding 1000 lx (top 10%) was significantly associated with increased hazards of incident AMD (HR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.06-1.62), cataract (HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.08-1.30), and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) (HR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.07-2.03). Significant time-response relationships were observed, with per-hour exposure to > 2250 lx further elevating the risk of overall AREDs (HR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.04-1.16) and POAG (HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.04-1.35). High-intensity artificial light in the evening is an independent, modifiable risk factor for major ocular aging pathologies.