How much fat you eat and of what kind, may affect your risk of age-related vision loss.
How much fat you eat and of what kind, may affect your risk of age-related vision loss.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is caused by abnormal blood vessel growth behind the retina or breakdown of certain cells within the retina itself. Cigarette smoking and heart disease both influence AMD risk, but the role of diet is less clear. Few studies investigating fat intake and AMD have looked at the earlier stages of the disease, or evaluated diet before AMD diagnosis.
To study the role of dietary fat in AMD, researchers looked at 1,787 women who were 50 to 79 years old when they entered the study, in 1994. All had reported their fat intake for 1994 through 1998, and all were tested for AMD between 2001 and 2004.
Overall, total fat intake had no influence on AMD risk. But when the researchers looked at women based on age, they found that for women younger than 75, those in the top fifth based on their fat intake were at 70 percent greater risk of intermediate AMD than those in the bottom fifth. The reverse was true in women 75 and older, with those who consumed the most fat at 50 percent lower AMD risk than those who consumed the least.
When the researchers looked at saturated fat, they found that higher intake boosted AMD risk in women younger than 75, but not in older women. Intake of omega-6 fatty acids, chiefly found in vegetable oils, was closely linked to omega-3 intake, with high consumption of both fatty acid types roughly doubling AMD risk. But higher monounsaturated fat intake was associated with lower AMD risk.
The above findings suggest that high fat intake can affect the risk of AMD, and high omega-6 intake may be particularly harmful, to the extent that it can "mask" any positive effects of omega-3 intake. Diets high in monounsaturated fatty acids may be protective.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is caused by abnormal blood vessel growth behind the retina or breakdown of certain cells within the retina itself. Cigarette smoking and heart disease both influence AMD risk, but the role of diet is less clear. Few studies investigating fat intake and AMD have looked at the earlier stages of the disease, or evaluated diet before AMD diagnosis.
To study the role of dietary fat in AMD, researchers looked at 1,787 women who were 50 to 79 years old when they entered the study, in 1994. All had reported their fat intake for 1994 through 1998, and all were tested for AMD between 2001 and 2004.
Overall, total fat intake had no influence on AMD risk. But when the researchers looked at women based on age, they found that for women younger than 75, those in the top fifth based on their fat intake were at 70 percent greater risk of intermediate AMD than those in the bottom fifth. The reverse was true in women 75 and older, with those who consumed the most fat at 50 percent lower AMD risk than those who consumed the least.
When the researchers looked at saturated fat, they found that higher intake boosted AMD risk in women younger than 75, but not in older women. Intake of omega-6 fatty acids, chiefly found in vegetable oils, was closely linked to omega-3 intake, with high consumption of both fatty acid types roughly doubling AMD risk. But higher monounsaturated fat intake was associated with lower AMD risk.
The above findings suggest that high fat intake can affect the risk of AMD, and high omega-6 intake may be particularly harmful, to the extent that it can "mask" any positive effects of omega-3 intake. Diets high in monounsaturated fatty acids may be protective.
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