Cataract, or opacification of the lens, is a major cause of visual disability. Cataract extraction is the most frequently performed surgery and costs for cataract-related problems account for the largest line item in the Medicare budget. Delaying cataract by 10 years would halve the number of cataract extractions and save over $1 billion annually. Studies suggest that nutrition may be exploited to diminish the prevalence of or retard the progress of age-related cataract. However, there is little epidemiologic research regarding relations between major components of diet (other than for antioxidants) and risk for prevalence or progress of cataract. This knowledge is important in order to know if people at high risk or with early lens opacities might benefit from proper dietary management. This NEI R03 proposal from the Nutrition and Vision Project (NVP) - a collaboration between Tufts University and the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) at Harvard University and Harvard Medical School - exploits unique existing ophthalmologic and nutritional databases to assess three previously untested hypotheses about the extent to which nutrition affects risk for prevalence and progress of opacification. The NVP ophthalmologic data set includes two sets of graded lens images, gathered five years apart, from 451 women (ages 53-73 y) who are a subset of the NHS. The NHS data set includes long-term nutritional data from 5 food frequency questionnaires and a plethora of data on other personal and environmental factors, all gathered during a 15-year period before the baseline eye exam. Combined, these data will be used to test three hypotheses: that risk for cataract is lower in persons who a) consume higher levels of specific fats (monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated dietary fats, n-3 fatty acids, etc.), b) consume lower glycemic index foods, and c) eat according to particular dietary patterns. ? ?

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Small Research Grants (R03)
Project #
5R03EY014183-02
Application #
6998424
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZEY1-VSN (06))
Program Officer
Araj, Houmam H
Project Start
2005-01-01
Project End
2007-12-31
Budget Start
2006-01-01
Budget End
2007-12-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2006
Total Cost
$159,658
Indirect Cost
Name
Tufts University
Department
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
039318308
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02111
Chiu, Chung-Jung; Liu, Simin; Willett, Walter C et al. (2011) Informing food choices and health outcomes by use of the dietary glycemic index. Nutr Rev 69:231-42
Chiu, Chung-Jung; Conley, Yvette P; Gorin, Michael B et al. (2011) Associations between genetic polymorphisms of insulin-like growth factor axis genes and risk for age-related macular degeneration. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 52:9099-107
Chiu, Chung-Jung; Taylor, Allen (2011) Dietary hyperglycemia, glycemic index and metabolic retinal diseases. Prog Retin Eye Res 30:18-53
Chiu, Chung-Jung; Robman, Luba; McCarty, Catherine Anne et al. (2010) Dietary carbohydrate in relation to cortical and nuclear lens opacities in the melbourne visual impairment project. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 51:2897-905
Chiu, C-J; Klein, R; Milton, R C et al. (2009) Does eating particular diets alter the risk of age-related macular degeneration in users of the Age-Related Eye Disease Study supplements? Br J Ophthalmol 93:1241-6
Chiu, Chung-Jung; Milton, Roy C; Klein, Ronald et al. (2009) Dietary compound score and risk of age-related macular degeneration in the age-related eye disease study. Ophthalmology 116:939-46
Chiu, Chung-Jung; Milton, Roy C; Klein, Ronald et al. (2007) Dietary carbohydrate and the progression of age-related macular degeneration: a prospective study from the Age-Related Eye Disease Study. Am J Clin Nutr 86:1210-8
Chiu, Chung-Jung; Milton, Roy C; Gensler, Gary et al. (2007) Association between dietary glycemic index and age-related macular degeneration in nondiabetic participants in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study. Am J Clin Nutr 86:180-8
Morris, Martha Savaria; Jacques, Paul F; Chylack, Leo T et al. (2007) Intake of zinc and antioxidant micronutrients and early age-related maculopathy lesions. Ophthalmic Epidemiol 14:288-98
Chiu, Chung-Jung; Taylor, Allen (2007) Nutritional antioxidants and age-related cataract and maculopathy. Exp Eye Res 84:229-45

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