Omega-3 Rich Diet Linked To Lower Risk Of Childhood Myopia

A fare rich | successful omega-3 fatty acids, recovered predominantly successful food oils, whitethorn thief ward disconnected nan improvement of short sightedness (myopia) successful children, while a precocious intake of saturated fats, recovered successful foods specified arsenic butter, thenar oil, and reddish meat, whitethorn boost nan consequence of nan condition, finds investigation published online successful the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

The world prevalence of myopia is rising, particularly successful East Asia, and it's predicted that astir half of nan world's organization will beryllium affected by 2050, statement nan researchers.

Risk factors are thought to see excessive surface clip and excessively small clip spent outdoors, arsenic good arsenic inherited susceptibility, they explain. 

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs), which tin only beryllium obtained from nan diet, are thought to improve/prevent respective chronic oculus conditions, including barren oculus illness and age-related macular degeneration. But whether they tin thief ward disconnected myopia isn't clear arsenic studies to day person been experimental and haven't included people.

To research this further, nan researchers drew connected 1005 Chinese 6-8 twelvemonth olds, randomly recruited from nan organization based Hong Kong Children Eye Study, which is search nan improvement of oculus conditions and imaginable consequence factors.

The children's eyesight was assessed and their regular fare measured by a nutrient wave questionnaire, completed pinch nan thief of their parents. This included 280 nutrient items categorised into 10 groups: bread/cereals/pasta/rice/noodles; vegetables and legumes; fruit; meat; fish; eggs; beverage and dairy products; drinks; dim sum/snacks/fats/oils; and soups.

Intakes of energy, carbohydrate, proteins, full fat, saturated fats, monounsaturated fats, PUFAs, cholesterol, iron, calcium, vitamins A and C, fibre, starch, sweetener and nutrients were past calculated, based connected nan questionnaire responses.

The magnitude of clip nan children spent outdoors successful leisure and during sports activities, reference and writing, and connected screens during weekdays and astatine nan play was calculated from validated questionnaire responses. 

In all, astir a 4th of nan children (276; 27.5%) had myopia. Higher dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids was associated pinch a little consequence of nan condition.

Axial length-measurement of nan oculus from nan cornea astatine nan beforehand to nan retina astatine nan back, and an parameter of myopia progression-was longest successful nan 25% of children pinch nan lowest dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids, aft accounting for influential factors, including age, sex, weight (BMI), nan magnitude of clip spent successful adjacent activity and outdoors, and parental myopia. 

It was shortest successful nan 25% of children pinch nan highest dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids.

Similarly, cycloplegic spherical balanced (SE), which measures refractive error, specified arsenic nan grade of shortsightedness, was highest successful those pinch nan lowest omega-3 fatty acerb intake and lowest successful those pinch nan highest intake.

But these findings were reversed for nan 25% of children pinch nan highest saturated fat intake, compared pinch nan 25% of those pinch nan lowest. None of nan different nutrients was associated pinch either measurement aliases myopia.

This is an observational study, and arsenic such, can't found causal and temporal factors. And nan researchers admit that nutrient wave questionnaires trust connected callback and only supply a snapshot successful clip of diet. Nor was location nonsubjective grounds of nutritional intake from humor samples.

The prevalence of myopia successful Hong Kong is besides among nan highest successful nan world. And whether nan findings mightiness use to different taste groups pinch different lifestyles and little myopia remains to beryllium verified, they add.

But omega-3 fatty acids whitethorn suppress myopia by expanding humor travel done nan choroid, a vascular furniture successful nan eye, responsible for delivering nutrients and oxygen, and truthful staving disconnected scleral hypoxia-oxygen deficiency successful nan achromatic of nan oculus and a cardinal facet successful nan improvement of shortsightedness, they suggest. 

And they conclude: "This study provides nan quality grounds that higher dietary ω-3 PUFA intake is associated pinch shorter axial magnitude and little myopic refraction, highlighting ω-3 PUFAs arsenic a imaginable protective dietary facet against myopia development."