Dietary interventions for age‐related macular degeneration: a review of the evidence

Abstract

PurposeTo summarise the findings of three recently published Cochrane systematic reviews, conducted by the authors that investigated whether taking nutritional supplements can prevent or slow the progression of age‐related macular degeneration (AMD).MethodsThe systematic reviews were performed using standard Cochrane methodology. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) where increased dietary intake of omega 3 fatty acids or antioxidant vitamin or mineral supplements were compared to placebo or no intervention with the aim of preventing the development of AMD, or slowing its progression.ResultsThere is no good evidence from RCTs that the general population should be taking antioxidant vitamin supplements to reduce their risk of developing AMD later on in life. By contrast, there is moderate quality evidence that people at high risk of developing advanced AMD may experience a delay in progression by taking specific antioxidant vitamin and mineral supplements. This finding is drawn from trials conducted in the USA in a relatively well‐nourished population. Although observational studies have shown that the consumption of dietary omega 3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of progression to advanced AMD, two recently published RCTs failed to show any benefit of omega 3 supplements on AMD progression.ConclusionsThere is no high quality experimental evidence that nutritional supplementation is beneficial for the primary prevention of AMD. However, people at high risk of developing advanced AMD may benefit from taking antioxidant vitamins. There is currently no evidence to support increasing levels of omega 3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diet for the explicit purpose of preventing or slowing the progression of AMD.