The association between blood vitamins D and E with age-related macular degeneration: A pilot study.

Background: This study was aimed to evaluate the association of serum vitamins D and E level with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Methods: This pilot study was performed in two groups of 15 patients in treatment group and 15 patients in control group. Measurements of blood factors [such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)] were performed after 12 h of fasting. To measure vitamins D and E, the serum was isolated from 5 cc blood samples.

Results: HDL was higher in the control group as compared with the AMD group. However, no significant difference was found between the two groups ( p  = 0.08). On the other hand, serum vitamin E in the AMD group was remarkably higher as compared to the control group ( p  < 0.002). However, no significant difference was found in serum vitamin D levels between the two groups ( p  = 0.662). Our findings also revealed that there was no statistically significant relationship between BMI and AMD. Moreover, no significant correlation was determined between serum CRP and AMD ( p  = 0.96).

Conclusions: Our data indicated that none provides evidence for associations between AMD and serum vitamin D levels. The association between vitamin D and AMD requires further investigations in a large population studies, to elucidate whether vitamin D deficiency can be an important risk factor for AMD.