Plasma antioxidant vitamins and carotenoids and age-related cataract

Objective: To investigate the relationships between plasma concentrations o f antioxidant vitamins and carotenoids and nuclear, cortical, and posterior subcapsular cataracts in a group of elderly men and women. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Participants: Three hundred, seventy-two men, and women, aged 66 to 75 year s, born and still living in Sheffield, England. Methods: The Lens Opacities Classification System (LOCS) III was used to gr ade nuclear, cortical, and posterior subcapsular lens opacities. Fasting bl ood samples were taken to assess plasma concentrations of vitamin C, vitami n E, alpha -carotene, beta -carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and bet a -cryptoxanthin. Main Outcome Measures: Logistic regression analyses of the associations bet ween plasma vitamin concentrations and cataract subtype, adjusting for age, gender, and other risk factors. Results. After adjustment for age, gender, and other risk factors, risk of nuclear cataract was lowest In people with the highest plasma concentration s of a-carotene (odds ratio [OR], 0.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.3-0. 9, P for trend 0.006) or beta -carotene (OR, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.4-1.4, P for tr end 0.033). Risk of cortical cataract was lowest in people with the highest plasma concentrations of lycopene (OR, 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2-0.8, P for trend 0 .003), and risk of posterior subcapsular cataract was lowest in those with higher concentrations of lutein (OR, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.2-1.0, P for trend 0.01 2). High plasma concentrations of vitamin C, vitamin E, or the carotenoids zeaxanthin and beta -cryptoxanthin were not associated with decreased risk. Conclusions: These findings suggest that a diet rich. In carotenoids may pr otect against cataract development, but because they are based on observati onal data, they need to be confirmed in randomized controlled trials. Ophth almology 2001;108:1992-1998 (C) 2001 by the American Academy of Ophthalmolo gy.