Increased intakes of vitamin C may increase the risk of developing cataracts in some elderly people, a new study reports.
Findings from 24,593 Swedish women aged between 49 and 83 indicated that vitamin C use was associated with a 25 percent increase in the incidence of cataracts (1). Among the older women – over the age of 68 – high doses of vitamin C supplements (1,000 mg/day) were associated with a 38 percent increase in the risk of cataracts. The findings were further complicated in women on hormone replacement therapy, where the supplements were associated with a 56 percent increase in cataracts.
The researchers speculated that the use of vitamin C supplements may be associated with higher risk of age-related cataract among women.