Vitamin C, carotenoids cut women's cataract risk

March 30, 2002

NEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters Health) - Women can reduce their risk of

early-onset cataracts by making sure they get plenty of vitamin C, new

research suggests.

Cataracts occur when the lens of the eye becomes cloudy, and are common

among people aged 75 and older. Good nutrition appears to help protect

against cataracts, Dr. C. of Tufts University and

colleagues note, but there is little research on the link between two

particular types of cataract and nutrition. They report their findings

on nutrition and cortical and posterior subcapsular cataracts (PSC) in

the March issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

In cortical cataracts, cloudiness affects the central external lens of

the eye, while posterior subcapsular cataracts are the most disabling

visually.

The Boston researchers collected data on 492 women aged 53 to 73. None

were diabetic, and none had been diagnosed with cataracts. Among the 984

eyes examined, about 34% had cortical cataracts and nearly 13% had PSCs.

Women under 60 years with daily vitamin C intakes of 362 milligrams (mg)

or more had a 57% lower risk of developing cortical cataracts than their

peers who consumed less than 140 mg of the vitamin a day, the

researchers found.

Women who took vitamin C supplements for 10 years or more reduced their

risk of developing cortical cataracts by 60%, compared with women who

did not take vitamin C supplements, 's team notes.

In women who had never smoked, those who consumed more folate and

carotenoids were considerably less likely to have PSCs. Carotenoids are

red, yellow and orange pigments found in fruits and vegetables, which

the body converts to vitamin A.

and colleagues conclude that " these data add more weight to the

accumulating evidence that antioxidant nutrients can be exploited to

alter the rates of development of these major (but less studied) forms

of age-related opacities. " The findings also indirectly suggest, they

add, that antioxidant nutrients like vitamin C can blunt smoking's ill

effects.

SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2002;75:540-549.

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