Abstract
Purpose: :
Dietary intake of lutein and zeaxanthin may prevent or inhibit the pathogenesis of age–related macular degeneration. These two carotenoids accumulate in the retina where they absorb light and may act as antioxidants. Individuals who consume similar diets, such as married couples, may have similar concentrations of macular carotenoids, and consequently, similar risk for developing age–related vision loss. The purpose of this study was to investigate diet, serum and retinal concentrations of lutein and zeaxanthin in married couples.
Methods: :
Forty participants, twenty male–female married couples, between the ages of 29 and 70, and married an average of 21.6 (SEM=2.4) years participated. Average fruit and vegetable consumption, as well as estimates of dietary macronutrients and carotenoids were assessed with standardized dietary questionnaires. Serum carotenoid concentrations were determined with high–performance liquid chromatography. Retinal carotenoids, defined as macular pigment optical density (MPOD), were measured psychophysically at four retinal loci with heterochromatic flicker photometry.
Results: :
Dietary intake of lutein and zeaxanthin was related to their aggregate serum concentration (p=0.008). Both dietary intake (p=0.01) and serum concentrations (p=0.02) of lutein and zeaxanthin were significantly related to MPOD at 30' eccentricity. Wives’ dietary intake (p=0.02) and serum concentrations (p=0.004) of lutein and zeaxanthin were linearly related with husbands’. Married couples’ MPOD, however, was not related at any locus.
Conclusions: :
Despite related dietary intakes and serum concentrations of lutein and zeaxanthin, husbands and wives did not have related MPOD. Factors not shared by married couples, such as hormone profiles, may influence MPOD more than common factors between spouses, such as diet.
Keywords: macular pigment • carotenoids/carotenoid binding proteins • nutritional factors