American Minor Dietary Patterns And Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Objective: To evaluate the relationships between American minor dietary patterns and AMD. Methods: 8,103 eyes from 4,088 eligible participants in the baseline Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) were classified into control (n=2,739), early AMD (n=4,599), and advanced AMD (n=765) according to the AREDS AMD Classification System. Using food consumption data collected by a 90-item food frequency questionnaire, eight minor dietary patterns were characterized by principle component analysis based on 37 food groups. Results: The eight minor dietary patterns were named Steak, Breakfast, Salad, Caribbean, Pizza, Peanut, Alcohol, and Beverage patterns. For advanced AMD, the multivariate-adjusted OR comparing the highest to lowest quintile of the pattern score was 1.73 (95% CI: 1.24 to 2.41; Ptrend=0.02) for the Steak pattern, 0.60 (95% CI: 0.44 to 0.82; Ptrend=0.004) for the Breakfast pattern, 0.64 (95% CI: 0.47 to 0.89; Ptrend=0.009) for the Caribbean pattern, and 0.64 (95% CI: 0.46 to 0.89; Ptrend=0.03) for the Peanut pattern. Conclusions This cross-sectional analysis indicates that a diet characterized by higher intake of leafy and salad vegetables alone, such as the Salad pattern, may be insufficient to provide a protection against AMD, and some foods that have not been recognized previously, such as peanuts, may be protective against AMD. These results, in conjunction with our previous analysis of major American dietary patterns, suggest that a diet consisted of diverse healthy foods may be the best dietary option for reducing AMD risk.