Instant coffee consumption can rob you of your eyesight, reveals study

Fans of instant coffee might have to find a new wakeup call, as according to a new study, the consumption of this coffee can rob one of their precious eyesight.

Yes, drinking instant coffee can lead to the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is a common eye condition that worsens the condition of the eyes. According to scientists from the Hubei University of Medicine in China, people at risk of this disease should avoid instant brews.





AMD generally first affects people in their 50s. While it doesn't cause total blindness, it makes simple day-to-day activities like reading and recognising faces difficult.


The study used genetic data from more than 500,000 people and found a statistically vital link between instant coffee intake and the risk of dry AMD- one of the forms of the sight-robbing disease.

"Our results revealed a genetic correlation between instant coffee consumption and dry AMD," wrote Siwei Liu, corresponding author from the Department of Ophthalmology in Shiyan Taihe Hospital at the Hubei University of Medicine.

AMD is a common eye disease and "one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness", said researchers.

To conduct the study the researchers used data from the UK Biobank that had details on people's coffee consumption-how much they drank in total and whether it was instant, ground or decaffeinated. They also obtained health data, including the diagnoses of AMD.

Researchers found a significant overlap between the genetic predisposition to instant coffee intake and the risk of dry AMD, suggesting shared DNA signals between the two traits across the human genome.

What is AMD?

According to the National Eye Institute, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a chronic eye disease that slowly damages the macula- the central part of the retina responsible for clear and sharp vision. It is the leading cause of loss of vision in older adults.

AMD is of two types, dry and wet. Most people have dry AMD, also called atrophic AMD. In this, the macula gets thinner with age. However, there is no treatment for dry AMD. Wet AMD, also called neovascular AMD is less common but causes faster vision loss. It occurs at a later stage and it is also possible that a dry AMD turns into a wet AMD. It happens when abnormal blood vessels grow in the back of the eye and damage the macula. However, wet AMD is treatable.

People near the age of 50 or those who have a family history of AMD are at risk. There are no particular symptoms of the disease but one can be on the lookout for problems such as blurriness and trouble with vision in the eye.

"Epidemiological studies indicate that AMD affects nearly 200 million people worldwide, with the number expected to reach 290 million by 2040," wrote the study authors in Food Science and Nutrition.

Essentially, byproducts, additives or chemicals such as acrylamide, oxidised lipids and other compounds found in instant coffee can contribute to dry AMD. Thus, people with early-stage AMD and those with a genetic predisposition to AMD should consider switching to ground beans instead.