Red Meat Intake Increases AMD Risk: Study
People who are heavy consumers of red meat are increasing their risk of developing AMD, while chicken has a slightly protective effect, according to a recent study from Australia. The study, conducted by Dr. Elaine Chong and other researchers at the Centre for Eye Research Australia at the University of Melbourne, was recently published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Specifically, the study found that people who consumed fresh or processed red meat 10 times per week or more increased their risk of developing AMD by almost 50 per cent compared to people who ate just five servings or less weekly. On the other hand, eating 3.5 servings of chicken or more per week had the opposite effect, reducing AMD risk by 50 per cent compared to a diet of less than 1.5 weekly servings.
Study followed participants for 13 years
The study, which began recruiting participants between 1990 and 1994 from a larger research project called the Melborne Collaborative Cohort Study, drew from data collected about the eating habits of 5,604 persons aged 58 to 69. Participants were asked about lifestyle factors such as age, diet, blood pressure, body mass index and smoking status so that risk and protective factors for AMD could be adjusted for during the statistical modelling process.
Follow-up took place from 2003 to 2006 and consisted of eye exams and retinal photographs to diagnose for AMD. Researchers discovered 1,680 cases of early AMD and 77 cases of late AMD among participants.
First study to examine red meat and AMD
The results suggest that consumption of different kinds of meat may have different effects in terms of a person’s risk of developing AMD. While red meat seems to increase the risk, white meat may actually protect a person against the disease.
Early-stage AMD is believed to develop to late-stage AMD, which can be either the dry or wet form of the disease. Because of the small number of people who developed late-stage AMD by the follow-up period, researchers were unable to determine whether red meat consumption was linked in particular to wet or dry AMD, or whether it causes AMD to progress from dry to wet.
To date, smoking is the only proven modifiable risk factor for AMD, although it has been believed for a number of years that diet may affect a person’s risk of developing the disease. The University of Melbourne study is the first ever to look at the connection between red meat and AMD.
More research needed
While the results are interesting, more research is needed. Some limitations of the study have been noted, including the fact that red meat could actually be a marker for other lifestyle factors causing macular damage.