Beta-Carotene Doesn’t Impact ARM Incidence

BOSTON—Long-term supplementation with beta-carotene did not reduce the risk of developing age-related maculopathy (ARM) in a group of male physicians, age 40 to 84 years (Arch Ophthalmol, 125:333-9, 2007). Participants (n=22,071) in the randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled trial, coordinated out of Harvard and Brigham & Women’s Hospital, received a placebo or beta-carotene (50 mg every other day). After 12 years of treatment, there were 162 cases of ARM in the beta-carotene group and 170 in the placebo group; results were similar for secondary end points of ARM with or without vision loss (relative risk [RR] 1.01) and advanced ARM (RR 0.97).