Nutritional status assessment in individuals with late-stage of age related macular degeneration

This study was performed to evaluate the nutritional status of individuals with late stage of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The study was conducted with a total of 166 individuals aged 50 years and over, 97 with AMD diagnosis and 69 without AMD, who applied to Ankara Ulucanlar Eye Training and Research Hospital between December 2017 and February 2018. Participants were questioned by means of the face-to-face interview by the investigator with a survey on demographic characteristics, health status, physical activity habits, anthropometric measurements, nutritional habits and biochemical parameters. The nutritional status of the individuals was determined by an one days 24-h dietary record and food-frequency questionnaire. Biochemical parameter values were obtained from the results of the last year in the patient's file information. The mean age of the participants in the study was 71.56±8.33 in the AMD group and 64.10±9.31 in the control group. There was no statistically significant difference in the diagnosis of chronic disease, regular physical activity, biochemical parameters between the AMD and the control group (p>0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in body weight, height and waist to height ratios between the control group and those with a diagnosis of late-stage AMD (p<0.05), but there was no significant difference in BMI median (p>0.05). The average of central macular thickness in individuals using nutritional supplement, the first value was 266.27±97.132 μm, the last value was 260.39±104.180 μm and there was no statistically significant difference between them (p<0.05). Red meat-chicken consumption median was 0.45 (0.00-4.82) in the AMD group, 0.77 (0.08-5.21) in the control group and there was a statistically significant difference between them (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in energy, carbohydrate, the percentages of energy from carbohydrate and fat, fiber, omega-6, omega-6/omega-3 ratio, carotene, folate and zinc intake between the AMD group and the control group (p<0.05). There is a statistically significant difference between AMD and control groups with insufficient consumption of fiber and folate (p<0.05). Status of having diabetes (OR: 2.709, 95% CI, 1.060-6.925), and increased age (OR: 1.126, 95%, 1.065-1.191) increases the risk of AMD. As a conclusion, adequate-balanced nutrition and the maintenance of ideal body weight are important in prevention and treatment of AMD. There is a need for more comprehensive and longitudinal studies to be able to explain the relationship between the AMD and nutritional status.