High carb diet may elevate risk for cataract

The quantity of carbohydrates consumed by may be associated with the development of early cortical opacities, according to a study in middle-aged women. The quality of the carbohydrates consumed was not related to the opacities, and neither quality nor quantity was related to development of nuclear opacities, the study found.

Chung-Jung Chiu, MD, and colleagues at Tufts University and elsewhere tested the hypothesis that long-term carbohydrate intake and dietary glycemic index are associated with the odds of early cortical and nuclear opacities. The researchers analyzed surveys of food intake collected over a 14-year period from 417 Boston-area women in the Nurses’ Health Study.

“Animal studies suggest a role for dietary carbohydrate in cataractogenesis,” the researchers said. “However, few published human studies have evaluated associations between carbohydrate nutrition and lens opacification.”

They found that women who ate more than 200 grams of carbohydrates per day were 2.46 times more likely to develop cortical opacities than women who ate less than 185 grams per day. Carbohydrate nutrition was not associated with the odds of development of nuclear opacities.

The study is published in the June issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.