Long-term intake of vitamins and carotenoids and odds of early age-related cortical and posterior subcapsular lens opacities.
BACKGROUND
Proper nutrition appears to protect against cataracts. Few studies have related nutrition to the odds of developing cortical or posterior subcapsular (PSC) cataracts.


OBJECTIVE
We assessed the relation between usual nutrient intakes and age-related cortical and PSC lens opacities.


METHODS
We studied 492 nondiabetic women aged 53-73 y from the Nurses' Health Study cohort who were without previously diagnosed cataracts. Usual nutrient intake was calculated as the average intake from 5 food-frequency questionnaires collected over a 13-15-y period before the eye examination. Duration of vitamin supplement use was determined from 7 questionnaires collected during this same period. We defined cortical opacities as grade > or = 0.5 and subcapsular opacities as grade > or =0.3 of the Lens Opacities Classification System III.


RESULTS
Some lenses had more than one opacity. No nutrient measure was related to prevalence of opacities in the full sample, but significant interactions were seen between age and vitamin C intake (P = 0.02) for odds of cortical opacities and between smoking status and folate (P = 0.02), alpha-carotene (P = 0.02), beta-carotene (P = 0.005), and total carotenoids (P = 0.02) for odds of PSC opacities. For women aged <60 y, a vitamin C intake > or = 362 mg/d was associated with a 57% lower odds ratio (0.43; 95% CI: 0.2, 0.93) of developing a cortical cataract than was an intake <140 mg/d, and use of vitamin C supplements for > or = 10 y was associated with a 60% lower odds ratio (0.40; 0.18, 0.87) than was no vitamin C supplement use. Prevalence of PSC opacities was related to total carotenoid intake in women who never smoked (P = 0.02).


CONCLUSIONS
Our results support a role for vitamin C in diminishing the risk of cortical cataracts in women aged <60 y and for carotenoids in diminishing the risk of PSC cataracts in women who have never smoked.
Taylor
Allen
A
Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA. ataylor@hnrc.tufs.edu
Jacques
Paul F
PF
Chylack
Leo T
LT
Hankinson
Susan E
SE
Khu
Patricia M
PM
Rogers
Gail
G
Friend
Judith
J
Tung
William
W
Wolfe
John K
JK
Padhye
Nita
N
Willett
Walter C
WC
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000187:drug effects; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000032:analysis; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood; D002386:Cataract / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004034:Diet Surveys; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007907:Lens Nucleus, Crystalline / Q000187:drug effects*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012907:Smoking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014815:Vitamins / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood; D016387:Women's Health
D000975:Antioxidants; D014815:Vitamins; D002338:Carotenoids; D001205:Ascorbic Acid