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Abstract #69395 Published in IGR 18-1
Contribution of the Nurses' Health Study to the Epidemiology of Cataract, Age-Related Macular Degeneration, and Glaucoma
Kang JH; Wu J; Cho E; Ogata S; Jacques P; Taylor A; Chiu CJ; Wiggs JL; Seddon JM; Hankinson SE; Schaumberg DA; Pasquale LRAmerican Journal of Public Health 2016; 106: 1684-1689
OBJECTIVES: To review the contribution of the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) to understanding the genetic and lifestyle factors that influence the risk of cataract, age-related macular degeneration, and glaucoma. METHODS: We performed a narrative review of the publications of the NHS between 1976 and 2016. RESULTS: The NHS has helped to elucidate the roles of genetics, lifestyle factors (e.g., cigarette smoking associated with cataract extraction and age-related macular degeneration), medical conditions (e.g., diabetes associated with cataract extraction and glaucoma), and dietary factors (e.g., greater carotenoid intake and lower glycemic diet associated with lower risk of age-related macular degeneration) in the etiology of degree and progression of lens opacities, cataract extraction, age-related macular degeneration, primary open-angle glaucoma, and exfoliation glaucoma. CONCLUSIONS: The findings from the NHS, combined with those of other studies, have provided compelling evidence to support public health recommendations for helping to prevent age-related eye diseases: abstinence from cigarette smoking, maintenance of healthy weight and diabetes prevention, and a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables.
Jae H. Kang is with the Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Juan Wu is with the Department of Nutrition, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston. Eunyoung Cho is with the Department of Dermatology, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI. Soshiro Ogata is with the Department of Health Promotion Science, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Osaka, Japan. Paul Jacques, Allen Taylor, and Chung-Jung Chiu are with the Laboratory for Nutrition and Vision Research, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston. Janey L. Wiggs and Louis R. Pasquale are with the Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School. Johanna M. Seddon is with the Ophthalmic Epidemiology and Genetics Service, New England Eye Center, Tufts Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine. Susan E. Hankinson is with the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Debra A. Schaumberg is with the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.
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