National Institute of Gastroenterology-IRCCS "Saverio de Bellis", Research Hospital, 70013 Bari, Italy.
Eye Clinic, Hospital "SS. Annunziata", ASL Taranto, 74100 Taranto, Italy.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Mar 14;20(6):5108. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20065108.
Like other parts of the body, the retina and its neurovascular system are also affected by age-related changes. The rising age of populations worldwide makes it important to study the pathologies related to age and their potential risk factors, such as diet and eating habits. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive power of food groups versus retinal features among noninstitutionalized older adults from Southern Italy using a machine learning approach.
We recruited 530 subjects, with a mean age of 74 years, who were drawn from the large population of the Salus in Apulia Study. In the present cross-sectional study, eating habits were assessed with a validated food frequency questionnaire. For the visual assessment, a complete ophthalmic examination and optical coherence tomography-angiography analyses were performed.
The analyses identified 13 out of the 28 food groups as predictors of all our retinal variables: grains, legumes, olives-vegetable oil, fruiting vegetables, other vegetables, fruits, sweets, fish, dairy, low-fat dairy, red meat, white meat, and processed meat.
Eating habits and food consumption may be important risk factors for age-related retinal changes. A diet that provides the optimal intake of specific nutrients with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory powers, including carotenoids and omega-3 fatty acids, could have beneficial effects.
与身体的其他部位一样，视网膜及其神经血管系统也会受到与年龄相关的变化的影响。全球人口老龄化的趋势使得研究与年龄相关的病理学及其潜在的危险因素（如饮食和饮食习惯）变得非常重要。本研究旨在使用机器学习方法研究意大利南部非住院老年人群中食物组与视网膜特征之间的预测能力。
我们招募了 530 名平均年龄为 74 岁的受试者，他们来自大规模的普利亚健康研究。在这项横断面研究中，通过经过验证的食物频率问卷评估饮食习惯。为了进行视觉评估，对所有受试者进行了全面的眼科检查和光相干断层扫描血管造影分析。
分析确定了 28 种食物组中的 13 种是所有视网膜变量的预测因子：谷物、豆类、橄榄-植物油、果菜、其他蔬菜、水果、甜食、鱼、奶制品、低脂奶制品、红肉、白肉和加工肉。
饮食习惯和食物摄入可能是与年龄相关的视网膜变化的重要危险因素。提供具有抗氧化和抗炎作用的特定营养素（包括类胡萝卜素和欧米伽 3 脂肪酸）最佳摄入量的饮食可能会产生有益的效果。
