Long-term daily multivitamin supplement use decreases cataract risk in men

The increase in macular degeneration, even though small and not statistically significant, shows need for further study. It's possible to remove a cataract, but not macular degeneration.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-02/aaoo-ldm022014.php

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 20-Feb-2014
Contact: Media Relations
American Academy of Ophthalmology
Long-term daily multivitamin supplement use decreases cataract risk in men
Researchers also find a slight, though statistically non-significant, increase in age-related macular degeneration risk among multivitamin users; call for further study

SAN FRANCISCO – Feb. 20, 2014 – Long-term daily multivitamin supplement use may lower cataract risk in men, according to a study of nearly 15,000 male physicians published this month in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Past observational studies have indicated a relationship between nutritional supplement use and eye health.

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The researchers found that in the placebo group 945 cases of cataract developed, which were self-reported and confirmed by medical records, while only 872 cases of cataract developed in the multivitamin group, representing a 9 percent decrease in risk. This risk was even lower, at 13 percent, for nuclear cataract, which occurs at the center of the lens and is the most common variety of cataract associated with the aging process. Given that an estimated 10 million adults in the United States have impaired vision due to cataract, even a modest reduction in risk of cataract has potential to improve public health outcomes.

"If multivitamins really do reduce the risk of cataract, even by a modest 10 percent, this rather small reduction would nonetheless have a large public health impact," said William Christen, ScD, the study's lead author and researcher from Harvard Medical School.

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"This finding of more cases of AMD in the multivitamin group than in the placebo group, although not statistically significant, does raise some concerns," added Dr. Christen. "Clearly, this finding needs to be examined further in other trials of multivitamin supplements in both men and women."

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