New study shows curcuma-based nutritional supplements may be associated with the reduced risk of developing AMD

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The results of a new retrospective cohort study suggest that use of curcuma-based nutritional supplements (CBNS) may be associated with the reduced risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or progression to the later disease stages,¹ according to the first author Amer F. Alsoudi, MD, from the Department of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston. He was joined in the study by researchers from the Departments of Ophthalmology of the Byers Eye Institute, Horngren Family Vitreoretinal Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Palo Alto, CA.

CBNS, such as turmeric, are natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agents that may confer benefits against AMD.

The researchers conducted this cohort study to investigate the association between CBNS and the risk of development or progression of AMD. They collected data from electronic health records research network, TriNetX, a Massachusetts-based company. Patients with and without AMD and those taking or not taking CBNS were included. The main outcomes were the relative risk (RR) of developing nonexudative/exudative/advanced nonexudative AMD or geographic atrophy (GA), blindness, or requiring intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy.

Analysis results

The study included 66,804 patients (mean age, 64.9 years), about two-thirds of whom were women, who were taking CBNS and 1,809,440 patients (mean age, 67.0 years), about 55% women who were not taking CBNS, the investigators reported.

Among the patients with no history of AMD aged 50 years or older who were taking CBNS, the results showed significantly (P < 0.001 for all comparisons) lower risks of developing all forms of AMD and GA, ie, for nonexudative AMD (RR, 0.23; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.21-0.26), advanced nonexudative AMD or GA (RR, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.07-0.17), and exudative AMD (RR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.24-0.32) compared with matched patients not using CBNS.

There was also a lower risk of blindness (RR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.36-0.59) and the need for intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy (RR, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.13-0.17) (P < 0.001 for both comparisons) compared with matched patients not taking CBNS.

The results also were consistent among patients 60 and 70 years or older.

The results also showed that in patients with early nonexudative AMD, subsequent instances of CBNS prescription records were associated with lower rates of developing advanced nonexudative AMD or GA (RR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.41-0.81; P < 0.001) compared with matched patients with early nonexudative AMD without a CBNS prescription record, Dr. Alsoudi and colleagues reported.

The authors concluded that the results suggested that the reduced risk of developing AMD or progression to later stages of AMD was associated with subsequent use of CBNS, but advised that additional studies should confirm these findings, safety, and potential pharmacoprotective mechanisms of CBNS in AMD.

Reference:

Alsoudi AF, Wai KM, Koo E, Mruthyunjaya P, Rahimy E. Curcuma-based nutritional supplements and risk of age-related macular degeneration. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2024; Published online October 24, 2024. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2024.4400