STUDY:

JOURNAL: ARVO 2003 Annual Meeting: Abstract 811/B786, presented May 4, 2003; abstracts 2111 and 2112, presented May 6, 2003.

AUTHORS: J. P. SanGiovanni,K. A. Trivedi

ABSTRACT: Dietary omega-3 fatty acids but not beta-carotene supplementation is associated with a reduced risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

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COMMENTARY: Higher intake of omega n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) and fish was associated with decreased risk of having neovascular AMD after adjusting for nutrient- and nonnutrient-based predictors and correlates of AMD.

Total fish consumption of more than two servings per week was associated with a decreased risk for neovascular AMD compared with no fish in the diet (OR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.28 - 0.84). Having more than one four-ounce weekly serving of broiled or baked fish (OR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.44 - 0.94) or tuna (OR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.45 - 0.98) also protected against neovascular AMD.

A second study, by W. G. Christen, from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, and colleagues, showed no protective effect of beta-carotene against AMD.

In the third study, by K. A. Trivedi and colleagues from Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, women with a higher dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids were at decreased risk of developing dry eye syndrome (DES).

Of 39,876 women participating in the Women's Health Study, 32,470 female health professionals aged between 45 and 84 years provided information on diet and DES. The highest versus the lowest dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids was associated with decreased risk of DES (OR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.70 - 0.98; P for trend = 0.04), after adjustments for age, other demographic factors, postmenopausal hormone therapy, and total fat intake.