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Dietary interventions for age‐related macular degeneration: a review of the evidence
Author(s) -
Lawrenson J.,
Evans J.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2015.0334
Subject(s) - medicine , observational study , macular degeneration , omega 3 fatty acid , randomized controlled trial , nutritional supplementation , cochrane library , population , vitamin e , placebo , polyunsaturated fatty acid , systematic review , antioxidant , physiology , intensive care medicine , environmental health , medline , alternative medicine , pathology , fatty acid , docosahexaenoic acid , ophthalmology , biology , biochemistry
Purpose To summarise the findings of three recently published Cochrane systematic reviews, conducted by the authors that investigated whether taking nutritional supplements can prevent or slow the progression of age‐related macular degeneration ( AMD ). Methods The systematic reviews were performed using standard Cochrane methodology. We included randomised controlled trials ( RCT s) where increased dietary intake of omega 3 fatty acids or antioxidant vitamin or mineral supplements were compared to placebo or no intervention with the aim of preventing the development of AMD , or slowing its progression. Results There is no good evidence from RCT s that the general population should be taking antioxidant vitamin supplements to reduce their risk of developing AMD later on in life. By contrast, there is moderate quality evidence that people at high risk of developing advanced AMD may experience a delay in progression by taking specific antioxidant vitamin and mineral supplements. This finding is drawn from trials conducted in the USA in a relatively well‐nourished population. Although observational studies have shown that the consumption of dietary omega 3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of progression to advanced AMD , two recently published RCT s failed to show any benefit of omega 3 supplements on AMD progression. Conclusions There is no high quality experimental evidence that nutritional supplementation is beneficial for the primary prevention of AMD . However, people at high risk of developing advanced AMD may benefit from taking antioxidant vitamins. There is currently no evidence to support increasing levels of omega 3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diet for the explicit purpose of preventing or slowing the progression of AMD .