Overall Diet Quality and Age-Related Macular Degeneration

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Martha P. Montgomerya, Freya Kamela, Margaret A. Pericak-Vanceb, Jonathan L. Hainesc, Eric A. Posteld, Anita Agarwale, Marie Richardsf, William K. Scotta & Silke Schmidt*ga Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, NC, USAb The Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics and Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USAc Center for Human Genetics Research, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USAd Duke University Eye Center and Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USAe Vanderbilt Eye Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USAf Westat, Durham, NC, USAg Center for Human Genetics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USACorrespondence: Silke Schmidt, PhD, Center for Human Genetics, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3445, Durham, NC 27710. E-mail: silke.schmidt@duke.eduPurpose: To examine overall diet quality in relation to advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD).Methods: This case-control study identified 437 advanced AMD patients and 259 unrelated controls using stereoscopic color fundus photographs. Participants were predominantly non-Hispanic White men and women from North Carolina and Tennessee. A 97-item Block food frequency questionnaire was used to gather diet information, and overall diet quality was measured using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) and Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI).Results: Participants in the highest quartile of diet quality had significantly reduced odds of AMD according to the AHEI score (0.54, 95% confidence interval 0.30–0.99) and non-significantly reduced odds of AMD according to the HEI (0.75, 0.41–1.38). Odds of AMD were also 51% lower in the highest quartile of fish intake compared to the lowest quartile (odds ratio = 0.49, 0.26–0.90).Conclusions: We found that advanced AMD was significantly related to overall diet quality. The AHEI score may be a useful instrument for assessing AMD risk due to diet, and it could potentially be improved by incorporating more specific information regarding micronutrient intake.