Abstract
Purpose :
Nutritional status is linked to onset and progression of advanced forms of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Among various nutrients, higher dietary and plasma status of B vitamins has been associated with reduced AMD risk in several studies, but prospective studies are scarce. We report the associations of dietary intake and plasma status of B vitamins with the incidence of advanced AMD in French elderly subjects.
Methods :
The Alienor study is an ongoing population-based cohort of 963 elderly residents of Bordeaux followed every 2-year since 2006. AMD was classified on the basis of color fundus photographs and spectral domain optical coherence tomography examinations (2006-17), and with self-reported AMD (2001-06). Dietary intakes of vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9 and B12 and total energy intake (TEI) were estimated from a 24-hour dietary recall performed at home by trained dieticians (2001). Plasma status of vitamins B6, B9 and B12 were measured from fasting blood sample (1999). Cox models were used to assess associations between B vitamins and AMD. Models were adjusted for age, sex, smoking status, HDL-cholesterol, genetic risk score, oral supplementation for AMD, BMI and physical activity, with additional adjustment for TEI for dietary B vitamins.
Results :
Among 861 participants at risk for advanced AMD with available data for B vitamins, 93 (10.8%) developed advanced AMD. At any time after inclusion, the hazard of advanced AMD onset was significantly 28% lower when the intake of vitamin B5 was 1-SD (1.84mg) higher at inclusion (HR=0.72; 95%CI: 0.53-0.99). The hazard of advanced AMD onset was significantly 10% lower when intake of vitamin B6 was 1-SD (0.60mg) higher at inclusion (HR=0.90; 95%CI: 0.81-0.99). No statistically significant associations were found with intakes of other B vitamins.
At any time after inclusion, participants with a normal status for vitamin B9 (≥10 nmol/L) at inclusion had a 2-fold lower hazard of advanced AMD onset compared with participants with a deficient status for vitamin B9 (HR=0.49, 95%CI: 0.25-0.95). Plasma vitamins B6 and B12 were not significantly associated with AMD.
Conclusions :
Higher dietary intake of vitamin B5, B6 and plasma vitamin B9 were associated with a lower risk of AMD. Sufficient intakes of B vitamins, mainly B5 (animal products, whole grains) and B6 (whole grains, liver), as well as a normal status of plasma vitamin B9, may help to prevent development of advanced AMD.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.