Eating fish helps ward off common blindness

CHICAGO, July 11 (Reuters) Cigarette smoking increases the risk of the most common cause of blindness among the elderly but eating fish protects against it, studies reveal.

One study from Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston found that those who smoked had nearly a twofold increased risk of age-related macular degeneration compared to those who had never smoked. There was also a higher risk for those who had smoked in the past but quit.

Macular degeneration is a disease in which the sharp central vision of the eye becomes blurred. It is the leading cause of blindness after age 60.

The Boston study published yesterday also found that those who ate more fish, including those who smoked, were less likely to have developed the disease, with the biggest benefit among those who ate two or more servings per week.

''About a third of the risk of (the disease) ... could be attributable to cigarette smoking, and about a fifth of the cases were estimated as preventable with higher fish and omega-3 fatty acid dietary intake,'' concluded the study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology.

In another study appearing in the same journal, Australian researchers reported a similar protective effect from omega-3 fatty acids, especially among those who ate two or more servings of fish per week, even when a history of smoking was taken into account.

''Insufficient essential fatty acid intake could result in abnormal retinal metabolism and cell renewal,'' while higher levels of omega-3 especially from fish ''may protect against retinal oxidation and degeneration,'' said the report from Westmead Millennium Institute and Vision Co-operative Research Center in Sydney.

REUTERS SB KP0853