Regular consumption of fish oil, omega-3 fatty acids, and fish may significantly reduce the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in women, according to a report published today.
AMD is a common eye disease creating blind spots and blurred or distorted vision. According to the American Health Association Foundation, it is the leading cause of vision loss in Americans 60 years and older affecting an estimated 11 million people.
William G. Christen, Sc. D, of Brigham and Womens Hospital and Harvard Medical School both in Boston, Mass., worked with colleagues to collect data from 38,022 women who at the start of the study were not diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration.
In a questionnaire, they asked the women about their eating habits including intake of two omega-3 fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and two omega-6 fatty acids, arachidonic acid and linoleic acid.
235 cases of AMD were recorded during ten years of follow-up involving more questionnaires tracking the womens eye health.
After accounting for age and treatment type, the researchers found women who consumed the most DHA had a 38 percent lower risk of developing age-related macular degeneration compared to women who consumed the least amount of DHA. The highest intake of EPA and the two other acids combined showed similar statistics.
