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High fruit, vegetable intake may protect against cataract, study in women finds
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A diet high in fruits and vegetables may have a modest protective effect on cataract development, according to a large cohort study of women.
William G. Christen and colleagues at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston analyzed data on 39,876 women enrolled in the Women’s Health Study to determine the relationship between fruit and vegetable intake and cataract development. The women’s fruit and vegetable intake was assessed at baseline in 1993 through a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire.
At baseline, 35,724 women were without cataract, and they were followed for incident cataract and cataract extraction. Cataract was defined in the study as an incident, age-related lens opacity responsible for a reduction in best-corrected visual acuity to 20/30 or worse.
The average follow-up was 10 years. During that time, 2,067 cataracts and 1,315 cataract extractions were confirmed. Women with the highest intakes of fruit and vegetables had a modest 10-15% reduced risk of cataract when compared with the women with the lowest intakes of fruits and vegetables. For cataract extraction, no discernable trend was observed, the study authors said.
The study is published in the June issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.