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An Australian study has concluded that dietary antioxidants have little or no effect on protecting patients against the onset of age-related macular degeneration.

Researchers at the Centre for Eye Research Australia and the University of Melbourne analysed the evidence to examine the role of dietary antioxidants or dietary supplements in the primary prevention of AMD.

They identified 12 studies (nine prospective studies and three randomised controlled trials) involving 149,203 people in their analysis.

Report authors wrote: 'Previous studies and reviews have largely focused on the role of dietary antioxidants and supplements in the secondary prevention of AMD - that is, preventing progression to late AMD in people with signs of early disease. Our analysis examined the role of dietary antioxidants and supplements in primary prevention and found that a range of dietary antioxidants, including vitamins A, C, and E, zinc, lutein and zeaxanthin, carotene, carotene, cryptoxanthin and lycopene, have little or no effect with the exception of vitamin E, which had a modest borderline protective association.'

Researchers did not include the results of the AREDS study which evaluated the role of antioxidant supplements in secondary prevention of AMD, a topic which was outside of the scope of their review.

The authors concluded: 'There is insufficient evidence that antioxidant supplements prevent the onset of AMD. Cigarette smoking remains the only widely accepted modifiable risk factor for the primary prevention of AMD, and patients seeking advice on AMD prevention should be encouraged to stop smoking.'

● The full finding are published on BMJ.com  

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