The Study
Dietary antioxidants and the long-term incidence of age-related macular degeneration: the Blue Mountains Eye Study.
This study looked at what people ate and then checked if they got eye problems later, but it didn’t make people change their diets. So we can say people who ate more of certain foods were less likely to get eye problems, but we don’t know if the food itself caused the difference.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
This study looked at what people ate and whether they got eye disease later on.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 552 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1These changes in risk are large enough that what you eat may matter for your eye health over 10 years.
- 2People who ate more lutein and zeaxanthin (in spinach, kale) had 65% lower risk of a serious eye disease.
- 3People who ate more zinc had about half the risk of early eye disease.
- 4People who ate more beta-carotene (in carrots) had 168% higher risk of the serious eye disease.
- 5People who ate more vitamin E had 183% higher risk of late-stage eye disease.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Ophthalmology
Year
2008
Authors
J. Tan, Jie-Jin Wang, V. Flood, E. Rochtchina, Wayne T Smith, P. Mitchell
Related Content
Claims (5)
People who consume more lutein and zeaxanthin through their diet have a lower incidence of advanced age-related macular degeneration.
Adults aged 49 and older who consume the highest amounts of zinc in their diet have a 44% lower risk of developing any form of age-related macular degeneration and a 46% lower risk of early-stage age-related macular degeneration compared to those with lower zinc intake over a 10-year period.
Adults aged 49 and older who consume the most beta-carotene in their diet have a 168% higher rate of developing neovascular age-related macular degeneration over 10 years compared to those who consume the least.
Adults aged 49 and older who consume more lutein and zeaxanthin in their diet have a 65% lower incidence of neovascular age-related macular degeneration compared to those with the lowest intake, based on a 10-year observation period.
Adults aged 49 and older who consume more vitamin E through their diet have a higher rate of late-stage age-related macular degeneration than those who consume less, with the highest consumers showing 183% more cases over 10 years.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.