Assessment of Dietary Nutritional Profile in Turkish Patients with Age-Related Macular Degeneration

To evaluate the dietary nutritional profile according to the suggestions of the Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2) in Turkish patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

The study included patients diagnosed with non-neovascular AMD in one or both eyes and who underwent routine follow-up in retina clinics at tertiary centers in İstanbul between May 12 and May 27, 2025. An ocular nutrition questionnaire prepared according to AREDS2 suggestions was translated into Turkish. The survey was conducted among our cohort after its reproducibility and validity were confirmed. Consumption of fish-shellfish, hazelnut-walnut-peanut, eggs, leafy greens, red pepper, carrot-pumpkin, and peppers-green tea-strawberry-citrus (eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, omega 3, lutein, zeaxanthin, beta-carotene, and antioxidant-rich foods, respectively), micronutrient supplementation, smoking, physical activity, anxiety about vision loss, education level, and monthly income were recorded.

A total of 530 patients from 7 clinics who answered all questions were evaluated. Adequate consumption of omega-3-rich foods consumption was reported by 19.3% of participants, whereas 57.2% reported no fish intake in the last week. Adequate consumption of foods rich in lutein/zeaxanthin, beta-carotene, and antioxidants was reported by 63.6%, 41.7%, and 4.7% of patients, respectively, and regular micronutrient supplementation was reported by 35.5%. Of the patients, 23.6% reported high anxiety about vision loss, 69.8% reported elementary or lower education, and 64.9% had a 20,000 TRY or lower monthly income. Micronutrient intake was positively associated with anxiety (p=0.0001) and education (p=0.02) but not with monthly income (p=0.1).

According to this first report in Turkish patients with AMD which was evaluated nutrition profile based on AREDS2 suggestions, patients showed low adherence to AREDS recommendations for micronutrient intake and lifestyle modifications. Awareness among patients and ophthalmologists needs improvement.