Good and Bad Fats Linked to Progression of Age-related Macular Degeneration
Boston--December 2003, Harvard Medical School affiliate Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary--Higher
levels of good dietary fat, including fish and nuts, have been found to
diminish the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and
bad fat, such as processed baked goods, increase the progression to the
advanced stages of the disease that is associated with vision loss. AMD
is the leading cause of blindness and vision impairment in the United
States. The findings are published in a paper in the December issue of
the Archives of Ophthalmology.
In the first study designed to evaluate dietary fat intake and the progression
of AMD, Johanna M. Seddon, M.D., ScM, lead author and director of the
Epidemiology Unit at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Associate
Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, along with her co-authors,
found that people with the early or intermediate stage of AMD, who consumed
higher levels of vegetable fat and animal fat, increased their rates of
progression to advanced AMD.
Food groups with higher levels of saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated,
and transunsaturated fats, particularly processed baked goods, were associated
with a higher rate of progression of AMD. On the other hand, nuts and
fish tended to reduce the risk of progression. These foods contain fats
that have been found to be associated with reduction in risk of cardiovascular
diseases, in particular omega-3 fatty acids as found in fish. The prospective
study consisted of 261 participants, aged 60 years and older with early
or intermediate stage AMD and visual acuity of 20/200 or better in at
least one eye at the onset of the study.
"Identification of modifiable risk factors for AMD may improve our
ability to identify and treat the approximately 8 million people in the
United States with signs of AMD who are at risk of progressing to more
severe forms of the disease," Seddon said. "More than 200,000
people develop advanced AMD with visual loss every year, and these numbers
are growing as the percentage of elderly people continues to grow."
Results of the study were derived from the Progression Study of Macular
Degeneration, is a longitudinal study designed by Seddon to determine
multiple risk and protective factors for the onset and progression of
AMD. The 102 males and 159 females, mean age 72.8, were followed for an
average of 4.6 years. All had some form of AMD and were examined annually
by Seddon to determine if their disease worsened.
Seddon is a world renowned macular degeneration clinician and researcher,
and a national leader of a landmark study of nutritional supplements and
age-related macular degeneration.
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Last updated: December 2003