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Increased consumption of certain dietary fatty acids may lower risk for glaucoma
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An increased daily consumption of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid was associated with a lower risk for glaucomatous optic neuropathy, but too much polyunsaturated fatty acid consumption was shown to increase the risk for glaucoma.
Researchers analyzed dietary polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) consumption as a continuous variable and in quartiles in a cross-sectional study of 3,865 subjects in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
The odds of having glaucoma were lower in subjects with higher daily dietary intake levels of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid. However, subjects with a total daily dietary PUFA consumption in the second and third quartiles were found to be at a higher risk for developing glaucoma.
According to the researchers, the odds of having glaucoma increased by nearly three times if a subject was in the second or third quartile compared with the first quartile.
“Participants who had the highest quartile of daily PUFA consumption intake also had odds of having glaucoma approximately twice as high as those whose intake was in the first quartile, although this result was not statistically significant,” the researchers wrote. – by Robert Linnehan
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
Perspective
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Lisa M. Young, OD, FAAO
Nutrition undoubtedly plays a vital role in maintaining good health. Because many patients fail to receive adequate dietary nutrition, we may recommend nutritional supplementation.
Studies have shown good nutrition and nutritional supplements to be beneficial to patients with ocular surface disease, macular degeneration and most recently, glaucoma. If you’re concerned that these positive results might be modest, you can temper your concern by knowing that patients are unlikely to be negatively affected by a healthy diet or by taking nutritional supplements at their suggested dosages.
Shedding further light on the nutrition-eye health question, Wang and colleagues have found that an increased dietary consumption of omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) was associated with a lower risk for glaucoma. Interestingly, an excess of these polyunsaturated fatty acids increased the risk for glaucomatous optic neuropathy.
Where does this leave us? I recommend sensibly increasing omega-3’s through the consumption of oily fish (salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines, caviar and anchovies) or with dietary supplements (fish oil, DHA additives, etc). But as is often the case, too much of a good thing might be a bad thing.
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