Fish n-3 fats, less age-related macular degeneration

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Hi All,

It appears that dietary patterns can affect

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age-related_macular_degeneration development,

according

to the pdf-available below paper. Linoleic acid n-6/omega-6 fatty acid, as well

as

the n-3 fatty acids, or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega-3 fatty acids, may

matter. Fish fat appears to be largely responsible at fairly high levels for

reducing our age-related macular degeneration risks.

Seddon JM, S, Rosner B.

Cigarette Smoking, Fish Consumption, Omega-3 Fatty Acid Intake, and

Associations With Age-Related Macular Degeneration: The US Twin Study of

Age-Related

Macular Degeneration.

Arch Ophthalmol. 2006 Jul;124(7):995-1001.

PMID: 16832023 http://tinyurl.com/nb6op

... age-related macular degeneration (AMD) ... 681 twins: 222 twins with

AMD

(intermediate or late stages) and 459 twins with no maculopathy or early signs.

....

Current smokers had a 1.9-fold increased risk (95% confidence interval,

0.99-3.68, P

= .06) of AMD while past smokers had about a 1.7-fold increased risk (95%

confidence

interval, 1.2-2.6, P = .009). Increased intake of fish reduced risk of AMD,

particularly for 2 or more servings per week (P trend = .04). Dietary omega-3

fatty

intake was inversely associated with AMD (odds ratio, 0.55; 95% confidence

interval,

0.32-0.95) comparing the highest vs lowest quartile. Reduction in risk of AMD

with

higher intake of omega-3 fatty acids was seen primarily among subjects with low

levels (below median) of linoleic acid intake, an omega-6 fatty acid (P

trend<.001).

The attributable risk percentage was 32% for smoking and the preventive fraction

was

22% for higher omega-3 intake. CONCLUSIONS: This study of twins provides further

evidence that cigarette smoking increases risk while fish consumption and

omega-3

fatty acid intake reduce risk of AMD.

... fish intake levels, omega-3 fatty acid intake levels, and cigarette

smoking, unadjusted for other variables. ... Body mass index was positively

related

to fish intake and omega-3 intake. Energy intake and alcohol were positively

related

to all 3 variables. ...

Table 2. Odds Ratios for AMD According to Fish Intake [Multivariate OR (95%

CI)^‡]

===========================================================

<1 Serving/wk 1 Serving/wk =/>2 Servings/wk PTrend

===========================================================

Multivariate OR2 (95% CI)^‡ 1.0 1.0 (0.67-1.48) 0.64 (0.41-1.00) .04

===========================================================

Abbreviations: AMD, age-related macular degeneration; CI, confidence

interval;

OR, odds ratio.

^‡ Multivariate OR: Adjusted for age (60-69, 70-79, and 80+ years), log

calories (continuous), and protein intake (quartiles). Adjusted for education

(=/>high school vs <high school); smoking (current/past/never in the

multivariate

fish models); age (60-69, 70-79, and 80+ years); body mass index, calculated as

weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters (<25, 25-29.9, and

30+); systolic blood pressure; cardiovascular disease; log calories

(continuous);

protein intake (quartile); log calorie-adjusted beta-carotene intake

(continuous);

alcohol intake (continuous); and physical activity (continuous, times per week

vigorous). Adjusted for total intake of zinc, vitamin C, and vitamin E (log

scale

for all 3).

Table 4. Odds Ratios for AMD by Quartile of Omega-3 Intake, Linoleic Acid

Intake,

and Omega-3 Intake Within Strata of Linoleic Acid Intake [Multivariate OR2 (95%

CI)^‡]

===========================================================

Fatty Acid Intake---Quartile of Omega-3 Intake---PTrend

---1 2 3 4---

===========================================================

Omega-3 intake 1.0 0.80 (0.53-1.21) 0.60 (0.36-0.99) 0.55 (0.32-0.95) .02

Linoleic acid intake 1.0 1.85 (1.12-3.08) 1.99 (1.12-3.54) 1.46 (0.72-2.96) .32

Linoleic acid intake, quartiles 1 and 2 (</=11.79 g) 1.0 0.94 (0.52-1.72) 0.39

(0.18-0.88) 0.23 (0.09-0.57) <.001

Linoleic acid intake, quartiles 3 and 4 (=/>11.80 g) 1.0 0.73 (0.35-1.55) 0.84

(0.37-1.89) 1.07 (0.46-2.50) .66

===========================================================

Abbreviations: AMD, age-related macular degeneration; CI, confidence

interval;

OR, odds ratio.

^‡ Multivariate OR2: Adjusted for log calories (continuous) and protein

intake

(quartile). Adjusted for education (=/>high school vs <high school); smoking

(current/past/never); age (60-69, 70-79, and 80+ years); body mass index,

calculated

as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters (<25, 25-29.9,

and

30+); systolic blood pressure; cardiovascular disease; log calories

(continuous);

protein intake (quartile); log calorie-adjusted beta-carotene intake

(continuous);

alcohol intake (continuous); and physical activity (continuous, times per week

vigorous). Adjusted for total intake of zinc, vitamin C, and vitamin E (log

scale

for all 3).

-- Al Pater, alpater@...

-- Al Pater, PhD; email: old542000@...

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