Antioxidants, Zinc May Prevent AMD

Antioxidants, Zinc May Prevent AMD

BETHESDA, Md.If the 8 millionpeople age 55 or older in the United States who are at high risk for developingadvanced agerelated macular degeneration (AMD) took supplements of antioxidantsand zinc, an estimated 329,000 of them would prevent it, as well as anyassociated vision loss during the following five years, according to Age-RelatedEye Disease Study (AREDS) Report No. 11 (Arch Ophthalmol, 121, 11:1621-4,2003) (http://archopht.amaassn.org). If no treatment were given to reduce their risk, anestimated 1.3 million people would develop advanced AMD. Researchers concluded,[I]f people at high risk for advanced AMD received supplements such as thosesuggested by AREDS results, the potential impact on public health in the UnitedStates would be considerable during the next five years.

AREDS is sponsored by the National Eye Institute of Bethesda,Md., and was designed to learn more about the natural history and risk factorsof AMD and cataract, and evaluate the effect of high doses of antioxidants andzinc on the progression of AMD and cataract, according to AREDS. The group usednumbers from the Eye Disease Prevalence Study (EDPS), which in turn performed ameta-analysis of seven large population-based studies involving approximately20,000 people inside and outside the United States to determine the number ofpeople 55 years old or older at higher risk of AMD.