Diets high in lutein, zeaxanthin and vitamin E associated with decreased risk of cataracts

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Public release date: 14-Jan-2008

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-01/jaaj-dhi011008.php

Contact: Lori J. Shanks

JAMA and Archives Journals

Diets high in lutein, zeaxanthin and vitamin E associated with decreased

risk of cataracts

Women who have higher dietary intake of lutein and zeaxanthin—compounds

found in yellow or dark, leafy vegetables—as well as more vitamin E from

food and supplements appear to have a lower risk for developing

cataracts, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of

Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

“The oxidative hypothesis of cataract formation posits that reactive

oxygen species can damage lens proteins and fiber cell membranes and

that nutrients with antioxidant capabilities can protect against these

changes,” the authors write as background information in the article.

Vitamin E, vitamin C, beta carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin are all

believed to have antioxidant properties. Lutein and zeaxanthin are the

only carotenoids—yellow plant pigments—present in the lens of the human

eye and may also protect against cataracts by filtering harmful blue light.

G. Christen, Sc.D., of Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard

Medical School, Boston, and colleagues analyzed dietary information from

35,551 female health professionals who enrolled in the Women’s Health

Study in 1993. The women were then followed for an average of 10 years,

and the diets of those who developed cataracts were compared with the

diets of those who did not.

A total of 2,031 women developed cataracts during the study. When the

participants were split into five groups based on the amount of lutein

and zeaxanthin they consumed, those in the group who consumed the most

(about 6,716 micrograms per day) had an 18 percent lower chance of

developing cataracts than those who consumed the least (1,177 micrograms

per day). The one-fifth who consumed the most vitamin E from food and

supplements—about 262.4 milligrams per day—were 14 percent less likely

than the one-fifth who got the least (4.4 milligrams per day).

“In conclusion, these prospective data from a large cohort of female

health professionals indicate that higher intakes of lutein/zeaxanthin

and vitamin E are associated with decreased risk of cataract,” the

authors write. “Although reliable data from randomized trials are

accumulating for vitamin E and other antioxidant vitamins, randomized

trial data for lutein/zeaxanthin are lacking. Such information will help

to clarify the benefits of supplemental use of lutein/zeaxanthin and

provide the most reliable evidence on which to base public health

recommendations for cataract prevention by vitamin supplementation.”

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(Arch Ophthalmol. 2008;126[1]:102-109.

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