Research paper

Night Vision and Carotenoids (NVC): A Randomized Placebo Controlled Clinical Trial on Effects of Carotenoid Supplementation on Night Vision in Older Adults

Nutrients

Sep 2021

DOI: 10.3390/nu13093191

Citations: 11

Influential: 1

Interventional (Human) Studies

COI

Study answer

What this study found

The treatment group showed a significant increase in MPOD and improvements in visual function measures including contrast sensitivity under glare, glare recovery time, and preferred luminance levels. Safer driving-related visual processing was also enhanced, as indicated by improved composite crash risk scores.

Study & population: Participants included 33 US veterans without overt disease but with self-reported difficulties in night vision.
Intervention: A prospective six-month placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial evaluated the effects of a carotenoid nutritional supplement containing 14 mg zeaxanthin and 7 mg lutein, taken once daily with food, on macular pigment optical density (MPOD) and night vision in individuals with self-reported night vision…
Key limitation: The study was limited by its small sample size and was conducted at a single center.

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Original abstract

Twilight and low luminance levels are visually challenging environments for the elderly, especially when driving at night. Carotenoid rich diets are known to increase macular pigment optical density (MPOD), which in turn leads to an improvement in vi…