This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Study: Vitamin C, combined antioxidant intake may prevent development of nuclear cataract
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
A large study documenting antioxidant intake in an Australian population has found that consuming high quantities of vitamin C or combining vitamins C and E with beta-carotene and zinc may help protect against nuclear cataract.
Ava Grace Tan, BSc(Hons), MAIT, and colleagues examined the relationship between antioxidant intake and the 10-year incidence of age-related cataract among 3,654 participants in the Blue Mountains Eye Study who were 49 years or older at baseline. Of these participants, 2,464 were followed up at least once at either 5- or 10-year examinations, during which the investigators performed lens photography to assess cataract formation and administered a food-frequency questionnaire to assess antioxidant intake, including beta-carotene, zinc, and vitamins A, C and E.
Participants with the highest 20% of total vitamin C intake, including vitamin C consumed in normal diet and from supplements, had a reduced risk of incident nuclear cataract.
In addition, the investigators found an association between a reduced risk of incident nuclear cataract and an above-median intake of vitamins C and E, beta-carotene and zinc, according to the study.
"Antioxidant intake was not associated with incident cortical or [posterior subcapsular] cataract," the study authors said in the June issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.