No CFH or ARMS2 Interaction with Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Low versus High Zinc, or β-Carotene versus Lutein and Zeaxanthin on Progression of Age-Related Macular Degeneration in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2: Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 Report No. 18.

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in this randomized controlled trial publication.

To evaluate the progression to late AMD, fundus photographs were obtained at baseline and annual study visits, and history of treatment for late AMD was obtained at study visits and 6-month interim telephone calls.

Who Took Part

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were older adults and people over 80, both men and women.

AREDS2 participants (n = 4203) with bilateral large drusen or late AMD in 1 eye were assigned randomly to lutein and zeaxanthin, omega-3 fatty acids, both, or placebo, and most also received the AREDS supplements.

Participants were genotyped for the single-nucleotide polymorphisms rs1061170 in CFH and rs10490924 in ARMS2.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled.

The participants were allocated by chance, so the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc group and the comparison group should start out alike.

Blinding on both sides kept the participants and researchers unaware of who received Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc.

Some participants received a placebo instead of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc, giving a reference point.

Post hoc analysis of a randomized trial.

Bivariate frailty models using both eyes were conducted, including a gene-supplement interaction term and adjusting for age, gender, level of education, and smoking status.

The main treatment effects, as well as the direct comparison between lutein plus zeaxanthin and β-carotene, were assessed for genotype interaction.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Carotenoids, Complement Factor H, Dietary Supplements, Disease Progression, Drug Combinations, Fatty Acids, Omega-3 and Genetic Association Studies.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 7 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2019 (Ophthalmology), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc compound page, all human trials.