A randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial of high-dose supplementation with vitamins C and E and beta carotene for age-related cataract and vision loss: AREDS report no. 9.

Study answer

What this study found

High-dose antioxidant supplementation did not reduce age-related lens opacity progression, cataract surgery, or visual acuity loss. For any lens event, the adjusted OR was 1.00; for cataract surgery, the adjusted RR was 0.97; and in the AMD category 1 subgroup, visual acuity loss showed an adjusted OR of 1.07. Zinc analyses were also reported as showing no difference in lens event risk, although numeric results were not shown. Some adverse events were more common with antioxidants, including yellow skin, skin and subcutaneous tissue adverse experiences, and chest pain, but there were no…

Study & population

Adults enrolled in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study were randomized across a multicenter factorial design at 11 U.S.

Intervention

In this multicenter randomized, placebo-controlled AREDS trial, participants received oral high-dose antioxidant tablets containing vitamin C 500 mg, vitamin E 400 IU, and beta carotene 15 mg daily, with some arms also receiving zinc 80 mg as zinc oxide plus copper 2 mg as cupric oxide.

Key limitation

Zinc-specific and combination-arm effect estimates were not reported numerically, limiting interpretation of those components.

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Original abstract