Dietary macronutrient intake and five-year incident cataract: the blue mountains eye study.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the relationships between dietary macronutrient intake at baseline and the five-year incidence of the three main types of cataract in older people.


METHODS
Population-based cohort study.


METHODS



METHODS
An urban community near Sydney, Australia.


METHODS
The Blue Mountains Eye Study (BMES) examined 3,654 predominantly Caucasian participants aged 49+ years during 1992 to 1994, and then 2,335 survivors (71.5%) after five years. Of these 2,335 subjects, 1988 (85%) completed a Willett-derived food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) at baseline.


METHODS
A 145-item FFQ was used to assess nutrient intakes and lens photography was used to assess the presence of cataract at both time points.


METHODS
Incidence of cortical, nuclear, and posterior subcapsular (PSC) cataract was assessed via lens photographic grading following the Wisconsin cataract grading method.


RESULTS
After adjusting for multiple known cataract risk factors, higher dietary intakes of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) were associated with a reduced incidence of nuclear cataract. The odds ratio (OR) for subjects in the highest quintile of intake compared to those in the lowest quintile was 0.58 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.35 to 0.97), P(trend) = .027. Similarly, for PSC cataract, higher dietary intakes of protein were protective (OR 0.28; 95% CI 0.10 to 0.76), P(trend) = .015. Dietary macronutrient intake was not associated with incident cortical cataract.


CONCLUSIONS
Higher dietary intakes of n-3 PUFA may decrease the five-year risk of nuclear cataract, whereas higher dietary intakes of protein may decrease risk for PSC cataract.
Townend
Bradley S
BS
Centre for Vision Research, Department of Ophthalmology and the Westmead Millennium Institute, Westmead, Australia.
Townend
Marcia E
ME
Flood
Victoria
V
Burlutsky
George
G
Rochtchina
Elena
E
Wang
Jie Jin
JJ
Mitchell
Paul
P
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002386:Cataract / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004032:Diet; D015930:Diet Records; D004435:Eating; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012307:Risk Factors; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3