Background: Impaired activity of the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) has been suggested as a risk factor in cataractogenesis. The aim of this study was to determine the G6PD activity level in 89 male subjects of Dalmatian origin with idiopathic presenile cataracts.
Methods: G6PD activity was determined by a quantitative spectrophotometric method.
Results: Of 89 males with presenile cataracts only one (1.1%) had G6PD deficiency. The G6PD deficiency prevalence rate among males with presenile cataracts is not significantly different (p > 0.05) from the prevalence of G6PD deficiency in the general population of Dalmatia (0.75% among men).
Interpretation: The results of this study suggest that G6PD deficiency does not represent a pathogenetic factor in presenile cataract, at least not in the population of the southern part of Croatia.