Association between Vitamin E and myopia in a cross- sectional study of the United States population

Abstract Although studies have indicated that Vitamin E has a protective effect against glaucoma and cataracts in middle-aged and elderly populations, and that myopia has a relationship with the incidence of glaucoma and cataracts in middle-aged and older adults, no studies on the relationship between Vitamin E and myopia have been reported. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the association between Vitamin E levels and myopia in the American population. This cross-sectional study included participants from the 1999–2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Vitamin E was the exposure factor and myopia was defined as spherical equivalent ≤ -0.5 diopters in the right eye. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association between Vitamin E levels and myopia. In total, 16,924 participants were included, and the prevalence of myopia was 51.9%. Compared to individuals with lower Vitamin E absorption Q1 (< 3.48 mg/day), the adjusted odds ratios for Vitamin E absorption in Q2 (3.48–5.45 mg/day), Q3 (5.45–8.23 mg/day), and Q4 (≥ 8.23 mg/day) were 0.98, 1.04, and 0.98, respectively. In a sample of adults in the United States, Vitamin E levels were not associated with either a decreased or increased risk of myopia.