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Vitamin E, selenium have scant effect on cataract in men
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Daily selenium and/or vitamin E supplementation is unlikely to have a significant impact on the onset and progression of age-related cataract in men, according to researchers.
The Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) Eye Endpoints (SEE) study, a randomized, placebo-controlled trial conducted at 128 sites, included 11,267 men 50 years and older.
Participants were randomly assigned to receive vitamin E alone, selenium alone, selenium with vitamin E or placebo.
The study’s main endpoints were incident cataract diagnosed after randomization and before Oct. 23, 2008, and best corrected visual acuity of 20/30 or worse related to lens opacity. A secondary endpoint was surgical removal of an incident cataract. The mean interval of treatment and follow-up was 5.6 years.
Study results showed a total of 389 cases of cataract, including 185 cases in the selenium group and 204 cases in the no selenium group; 197 cases of cataract were reported in the vitamin E group, and 192 cases were reported in the no vitamin E group.
Data showed 99 cases of cataract extraction in the selenium group and 120 cases in the no selenium group; there were 114 cases of cataract extraction in the vitamin E group and 105 cases in the no vitamin E group.
All between-group differences were insignificant, according to the researchers.
Disclosure: The study was supported by grants from the Public Health Service Cooperative Agreement. Gaziano received study support and a speaking honorarium from Pfizer.
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