Diet (2011, 2023), Cataract Risk

Learn more about cataracts.

2022

This 2022 study by Jingxin Zhou et al. finds a significant association between the Index-2015 dietary pattern (typically emphasizing the consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats while limiting processed foods, added sugars, and unhealthy fats) and age-related cataract prevalence in American adults, which was based on NHANES 2005-2008 data (the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data collected in the US for health and nutrition research). This research suggests that dietary choices as represented by the Index-2015, play a role in the development of cataracts in the US.

Zhou J, Lou L, Jin K, Ye J. (2023). Association between Healthy Eating Index-2015 and Age-Related Cataract in American Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study of NHANES 2005–2008. Nutrients. 15, 98.

2011

In this study the researchers looked into the relationship between diet and risk of cataract. The study subjects were 27,670 non-diabetic people aged 40 and more, a large proportion of whom were vegetarians.

The researchers used a testing model known as the Cox proportional hazards regression to evaluate the risk.

They found a strong correlation between the risk of cataract and the type of diet. The subjects who ate the most meat had the highest rate of cataracts, and those who ate fish, but not meat had a lower rate, vegetarians had a lower rate and vegans had the lowest rate of cataract incidence.

Researchers: Paul N Appleby, Naomi E Allen, and Timothy J Key

Published: Diet, vegetarianism, and cataract risk, Am J Clin Nutr May 2011 ajcn.004028