Approved Research

Effect of diet and diet-gene on ocular diseases

Lay summary

Vision loss is a pervasive health impairment affecting over 400 million people worldwide. Although there is some existing evidence to suggest that some dietary patterns (e.g. Mediterranean diet) could influence the risk of ocular diseases, the results are still inconsistent and further research is required. Our aims are to assess the relationships between diet intake and ocular diseases in the full cohort of UK Biobank using baseline data, repeated diet diaries and measurements of ocular diseases. We will not only explore dietary factors but also the effects of diet-gene interactions. The proposed project will use statistical models to analyse existing data collected by UK Biobank and will take approximately 36 months to complete. Our research will provide powerful evidence for effects of diet on ocular diseases. Our results can provide information to public and nutritionists to make dietary recommendations.