High vitamin K1 intake linked to reduced cataract risk

(HealthDay)—High intake of vitamin K₁ is associated with reduced risk of cataracts, according to a study published online May 11 in JAMA Ophthalmology.

María L. Camacho-Barcia, R.D., from the University Hospital of Sant Joan de Reus in Spain, and colleagues examined the correlation between dietary vitamin K₁ intake and the risk of incident cataracts in 5,860 participants (mean age, 66.3 years) from a randomized clinical trial carried out between 2003 and 2011 (Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea Study). A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to assess dietary vitamin K₁ intake.

The researchers found that there were 768 new cataracts documented after a median of 5.6 years of follow-up. After adjustment for potential confounders, the risk of cataracts was lower among participants in the highest versus the lowest tertile of dietary vitamin K₁ intake (hazard ratio, 0.71).

"High intake of dietary vitamin K₁ was associated with a reduced risk of cataracts in an elderly Mediterranean population even after adjusting by other potential confounders," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the nutrition industry; the supplemental foods used in the study were donated by Comunal Olivarero and Hojiblanca, the California Walnut Commission, and La Morella Nuts.