Dietary Patterns and Their Associations with Intermediate Age-Related Macular Degeneration in a Japanese Population

This population-based cross-sectional study investigated the influence of dietary patterns on age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in a Japanese population. The Tsuruoka Metabolomics Cohort Study enrolled a general population aged 35–74 years from among participants in annual health check-up programs in Tsuruoka City, Japan. Eating habits were assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. Principal component analysis was used to identify dietary patterns among food items. The association between quartiles of scores for each dietary pattern and intermediate AMD was assessed using multivariate logistic regression models. Of 3433 participants, 415 had intermediate AMD. We identified four principal components comprising the Vegetable-rich pattern, Varied staple food pattern, Animal-rich pattern, and Seafood-rich pattern. After adjusting for potential confounders, higher Varied staple food diet scores were associated with a lower prevalence of intermediate AMD (fourth vs. first quartile) (OR, 0.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.46–0.86). A significant trend of decreasing ORs for intermediate AMD associated with increasing Varied staple food diet scores was noted (p for trend = 0.002). There was no significant association between the other dietary patterns and intermediate AMD. In a Japanese population, individuals with a dietary pattern score high in the Varied staple food pattern had a lower prevalence of intermediate AMD.