Articles about Eye Health and Disease from 2005


High Dietary Antioxidant Intake Cuts Risk of Age-Related Macular Degeneration

(From Paulus T. V. M. de Jong, et al, JAMA, Volume 294,, Pages 3101 - 3107)

Data from AREDS found that supplements containing vitamins C, E, beta carotene, and zinc significantly reduced the risk of vision loss from age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in those at moderate to high risk of vision loss.  This study has found similar results, but from dietary sources of vitamins rather than supplements.  Consuming high amounts of beta carotene, vitamins C and E, and zinc in the diet may help reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), new research suggests.

In this study, high-dose supplementation with these antioxidants was shown to slow the progression of AMD, but the effect of regular dietary consumption in preventing this disease was unclear, according to the report in the Journal of the American Medical Association for December 28.

To investigate, Dr. Paulus T. V. M. de Jong, from the Netherlands Ophthalmic Research Institute in Amsterdam, and colleagues analyzed data from 4170 subjects who participated in the Rotterdam Study. The subjects were all at least 55 years of age and lived in a middle-class suburb of Rotterdam.

A food questionnaire was used to assess dietary intake at baseline from 1990 to 1993 and then standard eye scoring systems were used to assess the occurrence of AMD through 2004.

During a mean follow-up period of 8 years, 560 subjects developed AMD, the investigators found.

The amount of dietary vitamin E and zinc were both inversely tied to the risk of AMD. For each standard deviation increase in intake of vitamin E and zinc, the risk of AMD fell by 8% and 9%, respectively.

It was also found that consuming a diet with above-median levels of beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc reduced the risk of AMD by 35%.

The authors concluded that, "Although in need of confirmation, our observational data suggest that a high intake of specific antioxidants from a regular diet may delay the development of AMD.  This information may be useful to persons with signs of early AMD or to those with a strong family history of AMD."




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