By Gary Heiting, OD
Updated March 2017
A number of clinical studies have shown omega-3 fatty acids are essential for normal infant vision development.
DHA and other omega-3 fatty acids are found in maternal breast milk and also are added to some supplemented infant formulas. Omega-3 supplemental formulas appear to stimulate vision development in infants.
According to an analysis of several studies conducted by researchers at Harvard School of Public Health and published in the journal Pediatrics, the authors found that healthy pre-term infants who were fed DHA-supplemented formula showed significantly better visual acuity at 2 and 4 months of age, compared with similar pre-term infants who were fed formula that did not contain the omega-3 supplement.
Adequate amounts of DHA and other omega-3 fatty acids in the diet of pregnant women also appear to be important in normal infant vision development.
In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Canadian researchers found that infant girls whose mothers received DHA supplements from their fourth month of pregnancy until delivery were less likely to have below-average visual acuity at 2 months of age than infant girls whose mothers did not receive the omega-3 supplements.
Adult Eye Benefits Of Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Several studies suggest omega-3 fatty acids may help protect adult eyes from macular degeneration and dry eye syndrome. Essential fatty acids also may help proper drainage of intraocular fluid from the eye, decreasing the risk of high eye pressure and glaucoma.
In a large European study published in 2008, participants who ate oily fish (an excellent source of DHA and EPA omega-3 fatty acids) at least once per week had half the risk of developing neovascular ("wet") macular degeneration, compared with those who ate fish less than once per week.
Also, a 2009 National Eye Institute (NEI) study that used data obtained from the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) found participants who reported the highest level of omega-3 fatty acids in their diet were 30 percent less likely than their peers to develop macular degeneration during a 12-year period.
In May 2013, the NEI published results of a large follow-up to the original AREDS study called AREDS2. Among other things, AREDS2 investigated whether daily supplementation of omega-3 fatty acids, along with the original AREDS nutritional supplement or modifications of that formula — which contained beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc and copper — would further reduce the risk of AMD progression among study participants with early signs of macular degeneration. (The original AREDS supplement reduced the risk of AMD progression by 25 percent among a similar population.)
A somewhat surprising result of AREDS2 was that participants who supplemented their diet with 1,000 mg of omega-3s daily (350 mg DHA and 650 mg EPA) did not show any reduction of their risk for progressive AMD over the five-year duration of the study, compared with participants who did not receive omega-3 supplements.
A possible explanation for these different findings from AREDS and AREDS2 data may be that omega-3 fatty acids are more effective at reducing the risk of age-related eye diseases when obtained via food sources rather than from nutritional supplements. Also, a healthy diet containing plenty of omega-3s along with other important nutrients consumed over a person's lifetime is likely more protective than taking nutritional supplements for a five-year period.
