Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #168647

Title: DIETARY FAT INTAKE AND EARLY AGE-RELATED LENS OPACITIES

Author
item LU, MINYI - TUFTS/HNRCA
item TAYLOR, ALLEN - TUFTS/HNRCA
item CHYLACK, LEO - BRIGHAM & WOMENS HOSPITAL
item ROGERS, GAIL - TUFTS/HNRCA
item HANKINSON, SUSAN - BRIGHAM & WOMENS HOSPITAL
item WILLETT, WALTER - BRIGHAM & WOMENS HOSPITAL
item JACQUES, PAUL - TUFTS/HNRCA

Submitted to: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/3/2004
Publication Date: 4/1/2005
Citation: Lu, M., Taylor, A., Chylack, L.T., Rogers, G., Hankinson, S., Willett, W., Jacques, P. 2005. Dietary fat intake and early age-related lens opacities. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 81:773-779.

Interpretive Summary: Age-related opacification of the eye lens is the result of increased light scattering, and consequent decreased transparency in the crystalline lens. When clinical symptoms of visual dysfunction appear the process is called age-related cataract. Age-related cataract is the leading cause of blindness in the world today. In the United States, cataract extraction is currently the most frequently performed surgical procedure among Medicare beneficiaries in the United States at an annual cost of approximately $3.5 billion. Finding ways to delay cataract formation would enhance the quality of life for older people and substantially reduce the economic burden associated with treating cataract. A high level of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diet has been reported to delay the onset of mature cataracts in animal studies. However, there is limited human research on dietary fat intake and risk of cataract. Therefore, we examined the association between specific types of dietary fat and prevalence of cataract. There were significant positive associations between intakes of linoleic and linolenic acid, 18-carbon polyunsaturated fatty acids, and the prevalence of nuclear opacities. Women with the highest intakes of linoleic and linolenic acid were more than two-times more likely to have nuclear opacities than women with the lowest intakes these fatty acids. Fat intake was unrelated to the two other types of age-related lens opacities, cortical and posterior subcapsular opacities. Our data suggest that high intake of 18-carbon polyunsaturated fatty acids, linoleic and linolenic acid, may increase risk for age-related nuclear opacities. Given the novelty of this relation and the discrepancy between our observation and earlier animal studies, the role of dietary fat in cataract formation deserves further evaluation.

Technical Abstract: Dietary fat may affect lens cell membrane composition and function, which are related to age-related cataract. We examined the association between long-term dietary fat intake and prevalence of age-related nuclear, cortical and posterior subcapsular lens opacities. Four hundred forty women aged 53 to 73 years without previously diagnosed cancer, diabetes and cataracts from the Boston, Massachusetts area were selected from the Nurses' Health Study cohort to participate in the study. Intakes of total fat and selected fatty acids were calculated as the average intake from 5 food frequency questionnaires collected between 1980 and the study eye examination (1993-1995). Nuclear opacity was defined as grade >/=2.5, cortical opacity as grade >/=1.0, and posterior subcapsular (PSC) opacity as grade >/= 0.5 using the Lens Opacification Classification System III. Results showed there were significant positive associations between linoleic and linolenic acid intakes and the prevalence of nuclear opacities. The odds ratios for nuclear opacities among women with intakes in the highest quartile categories relative to women with intakes in the lowest quartile categories were 2.2 (95% CI: 1.1, 4.6; P for trend=0.02) for linoleic acid and 2.2 (95% CI: 1.1, 4.5; P for trend=0.05) for linolenic acid. There were no significant associations between intakes of any type of fat and either cortical or PSC opacities. We conclude that high intake of 18-carbon polyunsaturated fatty acids, linoleic and linolenic acid, may increase risk for age-related nuclear opacities. These relationships deserve further evaluation.