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Plasma antioxidant vitamins and carotenoids and age-related cataract

Plasma antioxidant vitamins and carotenoids and age-related cataract
Plasma antioxidant vitamins and carotenoids and age-related cataract
Objective: To investigate the relationships between plasma concentrations of antioxidant vitamins and carotenoids and nuclear, cortical, and posterior subcapsular cataracts in a group of elderly men and women.
Design: Cross-sectional survey.
Participants: Three hundred seventy-two men and women, aged 66 to 75 years, born and still living in Sheffield, England.
Methods: The Lens Opacities Classification System (LOCS) III was used to grade nuclear, cortical, and posterior subcapsular lens opacities. Fasting blood samples were taken to assess plasma concentrations of vitamin C, vitamin E, ?-carotene, ?-carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and ?-cryptoxanthin.
Main outcome measures: Logistic regression analyses of the associations between plasma vitamin concentrations and cataract subtype, adjusting for age, gender, and other risk factors.
Results: After adjustment for age, gender, and other risk factors, risk of nuclear cataract was lowest in people with the highest plasma concentrations of ?-carotene (odds ratio [OR], 0.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.3–0.9, P for trend 0.006) or ?-carotene (OR, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.4–1.4, P for trend 0.033). Risk of cortical cataract was lowest in people with the highest plasma concentrations of lycopene (OR, 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2–0.8, P for trend 0.003), and risk of posterior subcapsular cataract was lowest in those with higher concentrations of lutein (OR, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.2–1.0, P for trend 0.012). High plasma concentrations of vitamin C, vitamin E, or the carotenoids zeaxanthin and ?-cryptoxanthin were not associated with decreased risk.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that a diet rich in carotenoids may protect against cataract development, but because they are based on observational data, they need to be confirmed in randomized controlled trials.
1992-1998
Gale, Catharine R.
5bb2abb3-7b53-42d6-8aa7-817e193140c8
Hall, Nigel F.
cd32d48e-a60b-4a7e-b1a2-99cfb8c68c58
Phillips, David I.W.
29b73be7-2ff9-4fff-ae42-d59842df4cc6
Martyn, Christopher N.
eb9a7811-3550-4586-9aca-795f2ad05090
Gale, Catharine R.
5bb2abb3-7b53-42d6-8aa7-817e193140c8
Hall, Nigel F.
cd32d48e-a60b-4a7e-b1a2-99cfb8c68c58
Phillips, David I.W.
29b73be7-2ff9-4fff-ae42-d59842df4cc6
Martyn, Christopher N.
eb9a7811-3550-4586-9aca-795f2ad05090

Gale, Catharine R., Hall, Nigel F., Phillips, David I.W. and Martyn, Christopher N. (2001) Plasma antioxidant vitamins and carotenoids and age-related cataract. Ophthalmology, 108 (11), 1992-1998.

Record type: Article

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the relationships between plasma concentrations of antioxidant vitamins and carotenoids and nuclear, cortical, and posterior subcapsular cataracts in a group of elderly men and women.
Design: Cross-sectional survey.
Participants: Three hundred seventy-two men and women, aged 66 to 75 years, born and still living in Sheffield, England.
Methods: The Lens Opacities Classification System (LOCS) III was used to grade nuclear, cortical, and posterior subcapsular lens opacities. Fasting blood samples were taken to assess plasma concentrations of vitamin C, vitamin E, ?-carotene, ?-carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and ?-cryptoxanthin.
Main outcome measures: Logistic regression analyses of the associations between plasma vitamin concentrations and cataract subtype, adjusting for age, gender, and other risk factors.
Results: After adjustment for age, gender, and other risk factors, risk of nuclear cataract was lowest in people with the highest plasma concentrations of ?-carotene (odds ratio [OR], 0.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.3–0.9, P for trend 0.006) or ?-carotene (OR, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.4–1.4, P for trend 0.033). Risk of cortical cataract was lowest in people with the highest plasma concentrations of lycopene (OR, 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2–0.8, P for trend 0.003), and risk of posterior subcapsular cataract was lowest in those with higher concentrations of lutein (OR, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.2–1.0, P for trend 0.012). High plasma concentrations of vitamin C, vitamin E, or the carotenoids zeaxanthin and ?-cryptoxanthin were not associated with decreased risk.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that a diet rich in carotenoids may protect against cataract development, but because they are based on observational data, they need to be confirmed in randomized controlled trials.

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More information

Published date: 2001

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 25515
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/25515
PURE UUID: 461c22a9-fbb4-4caf-bec9-eda541c04b3a
ORCID for Catharine R. Gale: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3361-8638

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 19 Apr 2006
Last modified: 09 Jan 2022 02:48

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Contributors

Author: Nigel F. Hall
Author: David I.W. Phillips
Author: Christopher N. Martyn

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