EPA, DHA Intake Lower AMD Risk

BOSTONHarvard researchers found increased fish intake in a large cohort of women who were free of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) significantly reduced risk of AMD over a 10-year period of intake. They published their findings in the July issue of Archives of Ophthalmalogy (2011;129(7):921-929).

In the study, 38,022 female health professionals who were free of AMD diagnosis at baseline completed a detailed food-frequency questionnaire. Researchers analyzed fish omega-3 fatty acid intake and incident AMD (responsible for a reduction in best-corrected visual acuity to 20/30 or worse) based on these self-reports, which were confirmed by medical record review.

Their analysis confirmed 235 cases of AMD, most characterized by some combination of drusen and retinal pigment epithelial changes, during an average of 10 years of follow-up. Women in the highest tertile of intake for docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) had a multivariate-adjusted relative risk of AMD of 0.62 compared with those in the lowest tertile of intake. Similarly, women in the highest tertile of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) intake had a relative risk of 0.66 compared to the lowest intake group. Consistent with these results,  they also found women who consumed one or more servings of fish per week had a relative risk of AMD of 0.58, compared with those who consumed less than one serving per month.  

The researchers concluded regular consumption of DHA, EPA and fish is associated with a significantly decreased risk of incident AMD and may be of benefit in primary prevention of AMD.