Dietary fat and fish intake and age-related maculopathy

Objective: To assess whether dietary intake of fat or fish is associated with age-related maculopathy (ARM) prevalence. Design: Cross-sectional, urban population-based study. Participants: People (N = 3654) aged 49 years or older. Main Outcome Measures: Subjects with ARM were identified from masked grading of retinal photographs. A 145-item self-administered, semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire was completed adequately by 88.8% of participants and was used to assess intakes of dietary fat and fish. Results: A higher frequency of fish consumption was associated with decreased odds of late ARM (odds ratio for frequency of consumption more than once per week compared with less than once per month, 0.5). Subjects with higher energy-adjusted intakes of cholesterol were significantly more likely to have late ARM, with an increased risk for late ARM for the highest compared with the lowest quintile of intake (odds ratio, 2.7). Conclusion: The amount and type of dietary fat intake may be associated with ARM.