As light-induced oxidative damage of lens proteins may lead to the development of age-related cataracts, the leading cause of visual disability in many developed countries, research has focused on the role of nutritional antioxidants.
While a cross-sectional study in 2,900 Australian men and women, aged 49 and over found that those with the highest intake of vitamin B2 (riboflavin) were 50% less likely to have cataracts than those with the lowest (10), a prospective study in more than 50,000 women did not observe a difference between rates of cataract extraction between women with high (median of 1.5 mg/day) and low (median of 1.2 mg/day) riboflavin intake (11). A study in 408 women found that higher dietary intakes of riboflavin were associated with decreased five-year change in lens opacification (12).
Authored by Dr Peter Engel in 2010, reviewed by Hasan Mohajeri on 01.09.2017
