title: Long-term vitamin C supplement use and prevalence of early age-related lens opacities.
abstract: We designed the present study to examine the cross-sectional relation between age-related lens opacities and vitamin C supplement use over a 10-12-y period before assessment of lens status in women without diagnosed cataract or diabetes. This design avoids biased measurement of nutrient intake that results when knowledge of lens opacities influences nutrition-related behavior or its reporting. The participants were 247 Boston-area women aged 56-71 y selected from the Nurses' Health Study cohort with oversampling of women with high or low vitamin C intakes. Lens opacities were graded with the Lens Opacification Classification System II. Use of vitamin C supplements for > or = 10 y (n = 26) was associated with a 77% lower prevalence of early lens opacities (odds ratio: 0.23; 95% CI: 0.09, 0.60) at any lens site and a 83% lower prevalence of moderate lens opacities (odds ratio: 0.17; 95% CI: 0.03, 0.85) at any lens site compared with women who did not use vitamin C supplements (n = 141) after adjustment for age and other potentially confounding variables. Women who consumed vitamin C supplements for < 10 y showed no evidence of a reduced prevalence of early opacities. These data, together with data from earlier experimental and epidemiologic studies, suggest that long-term consumption of vitamin C supplements may substantially reduce the development of age-related lens opacities.
authors.affiliation: Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA.
authors.forename: P F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Jacques
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Hankinson
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Willett
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mahnken
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vaid
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lahav
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002386:Cataract / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D001205:Ascorbic Acid