
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 20, 1991                   TAG: 9102200045
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BOSTON                                LENGTH: Short

VITAMINS MAY CUT CATARACT RISK

Older people who consume plenty of vitamins by eating healthy or taking daily supplements run a far lower risk of cataracts, the leading cause of blindness, researchers say.

A study found that those who regularly used multivitamin supplements were 37 percent less likely to have cataracts. Experts suspect the key nutrients are anti-oxidants, substances such as vitamins A and E that counteract the damaging effects of oxygen.

However, the study's authors said they were unwilling to recommend that people take vitamins or alter their eating habits until more research is done.

The study was based on 1,380 people ages 40 to 79 who were treated at two Boston hospitals. It was published in the February issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.

by CNB