Imagine not being able to see clearly through the center segment of your field of vision.
This is the reality for many people living with a condition called age-related macular degeneration, but members of the LSU School of Human Ecology, Division of Human Nutrition and Food, have been conducting a three-year study focusing on how nutrition in college-aged students may impact their eye health later in life.
The Mayo Clinic defines macular degeneration as “a chronic eye disease that causes vision loss in the center of your field of vision. Macular degeneration is marked by deterioration of the macula, which is in the center of the retina – the layer of tissue on the inside back wall of your eyeball.”
The disease primarily affects adults age 50 and older, especially those with a high body mass index.
Louisiana is the fifth most obese state in the country, and the adult obesity rate is slightly above 31 percent, according to a 2010 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Macular degeneration continues to grow in America in correlation with the obesity rates.
It’s a widespread illness with no cure; the only way to combat it is through prevention and detection.
Mike Buck, dietetic nutrition senior, Emily Nickens, nutritional science senior, and Holiday Durham, post-doctoral researcher, are research associates and conductors for the University’s study.
“No one has looked at college-aged students, so this is the first study where we’re looking at a younger demographic,” Nickens said.
The participants in the study are asked to keep a 24-hour journal of everything that passes through their lips. This journal is processed by a machine called Nutrition Data System for Research that yields the student’s results.
This information is then processed to determine the student’s macular thickness, or the macular pigment optical density. High MPOD scores indicate that a person will have a lesser risk of developing AMD.
The key nutrients for which the study is looking are omega-3 DHA, a fatty acid, and the antioxidants, lutein and zeaxanthin.
“These nutrients play a protective role in the eye and can be preventative to age-related macular degeneration,” Durham said.
Notable foods that contain the beneficial nutrients are spinach, kale and Atlantic salmon.
“We want to bring attention to people and how your diet now can affect you later in life,” Nickens said. “Especially kids our age, we don’t always think of the long term effects of choices. You can start taking roles now to live a healthier life.”
According to the studies, women have the highest risk for getting macular degeneration, due to having children.
Durham said the number of children a woman has directly correlates with her risk of developing AMD. This is mainly caused by the fetus depleting its mother of the nutrient DHA.
Using this information, the group decided to backtrack before pregnancy to see if other factors may cause AMD.
Although the study is not yet complete, researchers hope to find a connection between MPOD rates and BMIs. Another variable that has been taken into consideration is eye color, according to Buck.
“Those with darker eyes often have higher macular density scores,” Buck said. “This is because the darker the pigment of the eye, the more protection it provides from damaging things, such as the sun.”
The study has about 120 students enrolled thus far, but to draw more accurate findings, the group is hoping to recruit another 120 students in the next year.
More information can be found by e-mailing [email protected].
____ Contact Taylor Schoen at [email protected]