The major aim of this proposal is to conduct analyses of dietary predictors of age-related maculopathy (ARM) and cataract in women and men. The analyses proposed will use detailed nutritional, behavioral, and blood-based data collected in the Women's Health Study (WHS) and Physicians' Health Study I (PHS I), two large randomized trials in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Blood-based lipid data have already been measured, and are available for more than 27,000 WHS participants who provided blood specimens at baseline. One goal of this proposed work will be to evaluate the associations of dietary and plasma levels of different types of fat (total, LDL, and HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio) with risks of ARM and cataract in women, and to assess whether any possible associations are independent of body weight. Analyses will also be conducted to determine whether intake of fish, and specifically omega-3 fatty acids, is associated with decreased risks of ARM in women, in men, and in the combined populations. Other more global aspects of diet recently shown to predict cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other chronic diseases, will also be evaluated in relation to eye disease. The proposed work includes an investigation of whether total glycemic load is associated with risks of cataract in women, and whether dietary pattern, the evaluation of how foods and nutrients are consumed in combination, is associated with risks of ARM and cataract in women. The WHS and PHS I are unique for their large size, prospective design, and detailed and reliable exposure and outcome information. Thus, the proposed analyses represent an extremely cost-effective opportunity to compare directly the predictive ability of several potentially modifiable risk factors for ARM and cataract in women and men.
