Dietary Intake of Antioxidants and Risk of Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Abstract

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a degenerative disorder of the macula, the central part of the retina. Late-stage AMD results in an inability to read, recognize faces, drive, or move freely. Early AMD is the subclinical stage of the disease and can be diagnosed by funduscopy. The prevalence of late AMD steeply increases with age, affecting 11.5% of white persons older than 80 years.¹ In the absence of effective treatment for AMD, the number of patients severely disabled by late-stage AMD is expected to increase in the next 20 years by more than 50% to 3 million in the United States alone.¹