New research suggests taking a daily multivitamin could reduce the risk of cataracts in males.
Researchers conducted a double-blind study consisting of 14,641 U.S. male doctors aged 50 and older, an American Academy of Ophthalmology news release reported.
Half of the study participants took a multivitamin along with vitamin C, vitamin E and beta carotene supplements, the other half took a placebo. The researchers monitored the participants for over a decade to see how many developed cataracts (a "clouding" of the eye). About 10 million Americans suffer from vision impairment as a result of cataracts.
"If multivitamins really do reduce the risk of cataract, even by a modest 10 percent, this rather small reduction would nonetheless have a large public health impact," William Christen, ScD, the study's lead author and researcher from Harvard Medical School said in the news release.
The researchers observed 945 cases of cataract in the placebo group and 872 cases of cataracts in the multivitamin group; this was a nine percent difference.
The team found a 13 percent lower risk of nuclear cataract (which occurs at the center of the lens) in the multivitamin group. The nuclear cataract is the most common.
The team observed 152 new cases of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in the multivitamin group compared to 129 in the placebo; these findings were not taken to be statistically significant.
"This finding of more cases of AMD in the multivitamin group than in the placebo group, although not statistically significant, does raise some concerns," Christen said in the news release. "Clearly, this finding needs to be examined further in other trials of multivitamin supplements in both men and women."
The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends the use of antioxidant vitamins and minerals.The findings were published in the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
