Women who have a healthy diet at lower risk of cataracts

A study has found women who have a healthy diet have a lower risk of cataracts than those who don't

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Monday, 14, Jun 2010 09:05

By Sarah Garrod.

A study has found women who have a healthy diet have a lower risk of cataracts than those who don't.

The research published in the Archives of Ophthalmology found women who eat foods rich in a variety of vitamins and minerals may have a lower risk of developing the most common type of cataract that occurs in the US.

Cataracts are the most important cause of blindness in the world and in the US, cataract is the most prevalent cause of visual impairment due to eye disease, the researcher say.

Julie A Mares, PhD, University of Wisconsin, and colleagues studied 1,808 women (age 55 to 86) who participated in the Carotenoids in Age-Related Eye Disease study.

The estimates of daily food and nutrition intake were made from previous responses to a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire used at the time as part of the Women's Health Initiative study.

Foods that contributed to higher diet scores were intakes at or above recommended levels for vegetables, fruits, grains, milk, meat (or beans, fish or eggs) and below recommended levels for fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium.

"Results from this study indicate that healthy diets, which reflect adherence to the US dietary guidelines at the time of entry in the Women's Health Initiative study, are more strongly related to the lower occurrence of nuclear cataracts than any other modifiable risk factor or protective factor studied in this sample of women," the study states.

"In conclusion, this study adds to the body of literature suggesting that healthy diets are associated with lower risk for cataract," the authors write.

"Lifestyle improvements that include healthy diets, smoking cessation, and avoiding obesity may substantively lower the need for and economic burden of cataract surgery in aging American women," they conclude.