Overall diet quality and age-related macular degeneration.
OBJECTIVE
To examine overall diet quality in relation to advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD).


METHODS
This case-control study identified 437 advanced AMD patients and 259 unrelated controls using stereoscopic color fundus photographs. Participants were predominantly non-Hispanic White men and women from North Carolina and Tennessee. A 97-item Block food frequency questionnaire was used to gather diet information, and overall diet quality was measured using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) and Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI).


RESULTS
Participants in the highest quartile of diet quality had significantly reduced odds of AMD according to the AHEI score (0.54, 95% confidence interval 0.30-0.99) and non-significantly reduced odds of AMD according to the HEI (0.75, 0.41-1.38). Odds of AMD were also 51% lower in the highest quartile of fish intake compared to the lowest quartile (odds ratio = 0.49, 0.26-0.90).


CONCLUSIONS
We found that advanced AMD was significantly related to overall diet quality. The AHEI score may be a useful instrument for assessing AMD risk due to diet, and it could potentially be improved by incorporating more specific information regarding micronutrient intake.
Montgomery
Martha P
MP
Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
Kamel
Freya
F
Pericak-Vance
Margaret A
MA
Haines
Jonathan L
JL
Postel
Eric A
EA
Agarwal
Anita
A
Richards
Marie
M
Scott
William K
WK
Schmidt
Silke
S
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015930:Diet Records; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013714:Tennessee / Q000453:epidemiology