BORDEAUX, France—The risk of early- and late-stage age-related maculopathy (ARM) may be reduced by a diet high in long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) according to a recent epidemiological study from Université Bordeaux Segalen researchers. Their findings were published July 30 in Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (52(8):6004-11).
The researchers studied epidemiological data from the Alienor (Antioxidants, Lipides Essentiels, Nutrition et Maladies Oculaires) on nutrition and age-related eye diseases performed in residents of Bordeaux 73 years of age and older. They included 666 subjects with complete data, including 24-hour dietary recall performed by dieticians (2001-2002), which helped researchers estimate dietary intakes. Researchers also classified five different stages of ARM from retinal photographs taken in 2006 to 2008: late neovascular ARM (n = 21 subjects); late atrophic ARM (n = 19 subjects); large soft indistinct drusen and/or reticular drusen and/or large distinct drusen with pigment abnormalities (early ARM2, n = 67 subjects); large soft distinct drusen alone or pigment abnormalities alone (early ARM1, n = 119 subjects); and no ARM (n = 440 subjects).
Using logistic Generalized Estimating Equation to estimate associations, the researchers found subjects with high intake of long-chain omega-3 PUFA showed a decreased risk for early ARM1 (odds ratio [OR], 0.83; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.71-0.98; P = 0.03) and late neovascular ARM (OR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.08-0.83; P = 0.02), after multivariate adjustment. Associations with late atrophic ARM were in the same direction but did not reach statistical significance (OR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.52-1.06; P = 0.10). Overall, high intakes of long-chain omega-3 PUFA were associated with reduced risk for late ARM (OR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.39-0.88; P = 0.01). The researchers concluded their results confirm a decreased risk for ARM in subjects with high intake of long-chain omega-3 PUFA.
