The Study
Dietary lutein, zeaxanthin, and fats and the progression of age-related macular degeneration.
This study looked at what people ate and whether their eye disease got worse over 7 years. It found that people who ate more of certain nutrients tended to have worse eye changes, but that doesn’t mean those foods made it worse — maybe people changed their diet after noticing their eyes were getting worse.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
This study looked at whether eating foods rich in lutein, zeaxanthin, and omega-3 fats helps or hurts eyes with early signs of macular degeneration.
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 550 / 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.
- 1This is surprising because these nutrients are usually thought to protect the eyes — but here, they were linked to worse outcomes in people who already had early eye disease.
- 2People who ate more lutein and zeaxanthin had 2.65 times higher odds of eye damage getting worse; those who ate more omega-3 fats had 2.56 times higher odds.
- 3Other fats showed no link.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Canadian journal of ophthalmology. Journal canadien d'ophtalmologie
Year
2007
Authors
L. Robman, H. Vu, A. Hodge, G. Tikellis, P. Dimitrov, C. McCarty, R. Guymer
Related Content
Claims (4)
People who consume more lutein and zeaxanthin through their diet have a lower incidence of advanced age-related macular degeneration.
People with early-stage age-related macular degeneration who consume more lutein and zeaxanthin in their diet show a higher rate of disease progression over seven years compared to those who consume less.
Over seven years, people with early-stage age-related macular degeneration who consumed different amounts of total fat or specific fatty acids showed no difference in disease progression.
People with early-stage age-related macular degeneration who consume more omega-3 fatty acids in their diet experience greater worsening of their condition over seven years.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.