Use of dietary supplements in French elderly subjects with early and late age-related macular degeneration: the Alienor Study

Abstract

 

Purpose:

 

In 2001, the AREDS Study demonstrated that supplementation with antioxidants and zinc decreases the risk for late AMD, in high-risk subjects (early AMD and unilateral late AMD). We describe use of dietary supplements in French elderly subjects with early and late AMD, in 2006-2008.

 

Methods:

 

The Alienor (Antioxydants, Lipides Essentiels, Nutrition and maladies OculaiRes) Study is a population-based study on nutrition and age-related eye diseases. 963 subjects had an eye examination from September 2006 to May 2008 in Bordeaux (France). Of 963 subjects, 84 subjects (8.7 %) were excluded from the statistical analysis, because of ungradable retinal photographs in both eyes. AMD was classified from colour photographs in five exclusive stages, according to worst eye: late neovascular AMD (n=25); late atrophic AMD (geographic atrophy, n=24); early AMD2 (large soft indistinct drusen and/or reticular drusen and/or large distinct drusen with pigment abnormalities, n=92); early AMD1 (large soft distinct drusen alone or pigment abnormalities alone, n=158); no AMD (n=580). Use of dietary supplements was collected by face-to-face standardized interview.

 

Results:

 

Use of dietary supplements was low in subjects without AMD (1.4 %) and with early AMD1 (1.9 %). It was slightly higher in subjects with early AMD2 (8.7 %). Dietary supplements were used by one fourth of subjects with late atrophic AMD (25.0 %) and about one third of subjects with late neovascular AMD (32.0 %). Among the 25 cases of neovascular AMD, 14 were unilateral (among whom 4 supplemented, i.e. 28.6 %) and 11 were bilateral (among whom 4 supplemented, i.e. 36.4 %).

 

Conclusions:

 

In the present study, use of dietary supplementation was low in French elderly subjects with early AMD. Dietary supplements were mainly used in the late form of the disease, and in particular in bilateral neovascular AMD, for which no benefit has been demonstrated.

 

Keywords: age-related macular degeneration • antioxidants