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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #165298
Title: PROSPECTIVE STUDY OF DIETARY FAT AND RISK OF CATARACT EXTRACTION AMONG US WOMEN

Author
item LU, MINYI - TUFTS-HNRCA
item CHO, EUNYOUNG - HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
item TAYLOR, ALLEN - TUFTS-HNRCA
item HANKINSON, SUSAN - HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
item WILLETT, WALTER - HARVARD SCH OF PUB HEALTH
item JACQUES, PAUL - TUFTS-HNRCA

Submitted to: American Journal of Epidemiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/14/2004
Publication Date: 5/15/2005
Citation: Lu, M., Cho, E., Taylor, A., Hankinson, S.E., Willett, W.C., Jacques, P.F. 2005. Prospective study of dietary fat and risk of cataract extraction among US women. American Journal of Epidemiology. 161(10):948-959.

Interpretive Summary: Age-related cataract is the leading cause of blindness in the world today, and the major cause of visual disability in the United States. Although surgery may be effective to reverse cataract blindness, it represents an enormous economic burden. Cataract extraction is currently the most frequently performed surgical procedure among Medicare beneficiaries in the United States, at an annual cost of over $3 billion. Finding a means to delay the development of cataracts would reduce disability and curb the growing number of expensive operations. The development of cataract is associated with a perturbation of cell membranes of the ocular lens. Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids are critical to maintaining the proper structure and function of cell membranes and may affect the risk of developing cataract. High intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids delays the onset of cataracts in animal studies. Because there has been little research on dietary fat intake and risk of cataract in humans, we examined the association between specific types of fat and incidence of cataract extraction among 71,083 women enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study, 45 years of age or older without diagnosis of cancer, diabetes, or cataract. We documented 4,196 incident cases of cataract extraction during 16 years of follow-up. The risk of cataract was 10% greater for women with the highest total fat intake and 11% greater for women with the highest trans fatty acid intakes relative to those with the lowest intake, whereas women with the highest intake of long-chain omega-3 fatty acid (DHA and EPA) had a 12% lower risk of cataract compared with those with the lowest intakes. Total fish intake was inversely associated with risk of cataract. Our findings suggest that the fatty acid composition of the diet can influence risk of cataract.

Technical Abstract: The authors examined prospectively the association between dietary fat intake and cataract extraction in adult women from the Nurses’ Health Study. 71,083 women were followed prospectively for up to 16 years. Dietary fat was assessed by repeated food-frequency questionnaires. Incident cases of cataract extraction were determined by a biennial questionnaire. The multivariate adjusted relative risk (RR) for the highest compared with the lowest quintile of total fat intake was 1.10 (95% CI: 0.99, 1.22; p for trend=0.01). Women in the highest quintile of long-chain omega-3 fatty acid had a 12% lower risk of cataract extraction compared with those in the lowest quintile (RR=0.88, 95% CI: 0.79, 0.98; p for trend=0.02). Total fish intake was inversely associated with cataract (RR=0.89 for intake of >=3/wk vs. <=1/mo, 95% CI: 0.81, 0.98; p for trend=0.01). The authors’ findings suggest that higher intake of long-chain omega-3 fatty acid (eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) and consumption of fish may modestly reduce the risk of cataract.