Vegetarians Show Reduced Risk For Cataracts

Dr. Greger mentioned this study in his last post:
Diet, Vegetarianism, And Cataract Risk, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, May 2011

It was an analysis of one of the large EPIC* trials (EPIC-Oxford), and included "27,670 self-reported nondiabetic participants aged ≥40 years."

It found:

"In this cohort of predominantly health-conscious British residents, there was a strong association between diet group and cataract with a progressive decrease in cataract risk in high meat eaters to low meat eaters, fish eaters, vegetarians, and vegans. This progressive decrease in cataract risk was seen for both men and women but appeared to be confined to participants aged ≥65 years at recruitment. Overall, compared with meat eaters who consumed ≥100 grams (~3.5 ounces) meat and meat products/day, fish eaters, vegetarians, and vegans had approximately 20%, 30%, and 40% lower risk of cataract, respectively."
...
"We showed that vegetarians and vegans had a significantly lower risk of cataract than did meat eaters, predominantly in the elderly, with a progressive decrease in risk in parallel with the amount of meat and other animal products in the diet."
...
"We found no difference in cataract risk between regular dietary supplement users and other participants."

So, compared to people who ate the equivalent of about a hamburger a day (and no other meat - no bacon, deli meat, chicken, etc.):

• Fish-eaters (pescatarians) had a 20% lower risk
• Vegetarians had a 30% lower risk
• Vegans (no eggs or dairy) had a 40% lower risk

They only assessed diet once, at recruitment, and the study progressed over about 10 years. It's a weakness, although the large population, the large number of cataract cases, and the large differences in risk between groups add credence to the association.

Here's Greger's video:



* European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)
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