LONG-TERM SUPPLEMENTATION WITH ALPHA-TOCOPHEROL AND BETA-CAROTENE ANDAGE-RELATED CATARACT

Purpose: To study if long-term supplementation with alpha-tocopherol o r betacarotene is associated with cataract prevalence and severity. Me thods: An end-of-trial random sample of 1828 participants from the ran domized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial the alpha-toc opherol, beta-carotene cancer prevention study. The alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene cancer prevention study was originally designed to exami ne whether supplementation, with alpha-tocopherol or beta-carotene wou ld reduce the incidence of lung cancer in male smokers. The participan ts for this study lived in Helsinki City or Uusimaa province and were at entry to the alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene cancer prevention stud y 50 to 69 years old and smoked at least 5 cigarettes per day They rec eived alpha-tocopherol 50 mg/day, beta-carotene 20 mg/day, a combinati on of the two, or placebo supplements for 5 to 8 years (median 6.6 yea rs). Outcome measures were: cortical, nuclear, and posterior subcapsul ar cataract, differentiated and quantified with lens opacity classific ation system (LOCS II). Lens opacity meter provided a continuous measu re of cataract density. Results: Supplementation with alpha-tocopherol or beta-carotene was not associated with the end-of-trial prevalence of nuclear (odds ratio 1.1 and 1.2, respectively), cortical (odds rati o 1.0 and 1.3, respectively), or posterior subcapsular cataract (odds ratio 1.1 and 1.0, respectively) when adjusted for possible confounder s in logistic model, Neither did the median lens opacity meter values differ bet tr een the supplementation groups, indicating no effect of alpha-tocopherol or beta-carotene on cataract severity. Conclusion: Su pplementation with alpha-tocopherol or beta-carotene for 5 to 8 years does not influence the cataract prevalence among middle-aged, smoking men.