Mechanistic studies have suggested that
antioxidants have beneficial effects on
age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This study aimed to investigate the association between the types and sources of dietary
vitamin and
carotenoid intakes and AMD risk in China. A matched case-control study of 260 AMD cases and 260 matched controls was performed. The participants were interviewed for dietary information and potential confounders, and comprehensive ophthalmic examinations were performed. Conditional logistic models were used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95 % confidence interval (CI) of specific
vitamins and
carotenoids and their main sources. When comparing the extreme quartiles, the
ORs (95 % CI) were 0·30 (0·10, 0·88) for
lutein and 0·28 (0·11, 0·74) for β-
cryptoxanthin. The associations for other dietary
vitamin and
carotenoid intakes were generally weaker and non-significant. Higher intakes of spinach and egg, which are important sources of
lutein, were associated with a reduced odds of AMD.
ORs (95% CIs) comparing extreme categories were 0·42 (0·20, 0·88) for spinach and 0·52 (95% CI: 0·27, 0·98) for egg. Participants who were in the highest category of both egg intake and spinach intake had a much greater reduced odds of having AMD (OR: 0·23; 95% CI: 0·08, 0·71) than those in the lowest category of egg intake and spinach intake. In conclusion, a higher intake of
lutein and
lutein-rich foods was associated with a significantly decreased odds of AMD. These findings provide further evidence of the benefits of
lutein and
lutein-rich foods in the prevention of AMD.