Carotenoids in the Mediterranean diet and their association with age-related macular degeneration

Abstract

Background: Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is becoming an increasingly prevalent eye-disease within the ≥ 55 year old population. This is of great concern within Malta since the ageing population is increasing. One of the major modifiable risk factors of AMD is diet. The aim of this study is to explore the association between diet and the occurrence of AMD. The studies on AMD within the local context are extremely limited. No studies in Malta were found that assessed this association. Method: A self-constructed, online questionnaire was distributed on the social media platform of ‘Facebook’. This data collection tool targeted participants between 18-75+ years old. The questionnaire consisted of two main sections. Demographics and dietary patterns made up the first section. The second was composed of the dietary component to assess the consumption of carotenoid-rich foods. The Chi-squared test was utilised to analyse the results by using the software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Results: A non-stratified sample was initially obtained (n=350); this was filtered (n=102) and stratified to only include participants within the age bracket 55-75+. This study was conducted on 80 healthy controls without AMD and 22 case subjects with AMD. The majority of the participants were between 55-65 years old, male and overweight. The dietary patterns between the two cohorts differed significantly (p=0.039). Overall, there were no significant associations in the consumption of fruit (p=0.572), vegetable (p=0.267) and eggs (p=0.592) between the two cohorts. Conclusion: This observational case-control study was the first known attempt at investigating the association between the occurrence of AMD and diet amongst 55-75+ year olds within the local context. This study was valuable in determining the difference in dietary patterns between the two cohorts. This study was quite limiteddue to the small sample size. However, it can be a valuable source of information for the publichealth dietary policy and also serve as a stepping stone into further research in this particular field.