Age-related cataract in a randomized trial of vitamins E and C in men.
OBJECTIVE
To test whether supplementation with alternate-day vitamin E or daily vitamin C affects the incidence of age-related cataract in a large cohort of men.


METHODS
In a randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled trial, 11,545 apparently healthy US male physicians 50 years or older without a diagnosis of cataract at baseline were randomly assigned to receive 400 IU of vitamin E or placebo on alternate days and 500 mg of vitamin C or placebo daily.


METHODS
Incident cataract responsible for a reduction in best-corrected visual acuity to 20/30 or worse based on self-report confirmed by medical record review.


CONCLUSIONS
Long-term use of vitamin E and C supplements has no appreciable effect on cataract.


RESULTS
After 8 years of treatment and follow-up, 1174 incident cataracts were confirmed. There were 579 cataracts in the vitamin E-treated group and 595 in the vitamin E placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.99; 95% confidence interval, 0.88-1.11). For vitamin C, there were 593 cataracts in the treated group and 581 in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 1.02; 95% confidence interval, 0.91-1.14).


CONCLUSIONS
Long-term alternate-day use of 400 IU of vitamin E and daily use of 500 mg of vitamin C had no notable beneficial or harmful effect on the risk of cataract.


BACKGROUND
clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00270647.
Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215-1204, USA. wchristen@rics.bwh.harvard.edu
William G
WG
Christen
Robert J
RJ
Glynn
Howard D
HD
Sesso
Tobias
T
Kurth
Jean
J
MacFadyen
Vadim
V
Bubes
Julie E
JE
Buring
JoAnn E
JE
Manson
J Michael
JM
Gaziano
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002386:Cataract / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D002387:Cataract Extraction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010820:Physicians; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D000975:Antioxidants; D004338:Drug Combinations; D014810:Vitamin E; D001205:Ascorbic Acid