To investigate the associations between circulating vitamins A, D, E, B6, B9, B12 and longitudinal changes in retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness.

The Alienor study, a prospective population-based cohort (Bordeaux, France), includes 963 individuals aged 73 years or older at baseline. The present study included 646 participants with complete RNFL measurement and vitamins. Study period is from 2009 to 2020. Peripapillary RNFL thickness was measured using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Plasma vitamins A, D and E and, serum vitamins B6, B9 and B12 were measured from blood sample. We performed linear mixed models, adjusted for age, gender, axial length, family history of glaucoma, and alcohol consumption to evaluated associations between vitamins and RNFL thickness changes over time.

Individuals having higher concentrations of vitamin E, D and B9 had a slower RNFL thinning during the 10-years of follow-up. Indeed, a 1-standard deviation (SD) increase of vitamin E (10.8 μmol/L), D (17.6 nmol/L) and B9 (11 μmol/L) were associated with slower RNFL thinning by 0.14 μm/year (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.03−0.25, p = 0.01), 0.14 μm/year (95% CI, 0.02−0.27, p = 0.02) and 0.11 μm/year (95% CI: 0.007−0.21, p = 0.04), respectively. No significant associations were observed for vitamins A, B6 and B12 with RNFL thinning.

Higher levels of vitamins E, D and B9 were associated with a slower RNFL thickness on SD-OCT over time, suggesting that those vitamins may contribute to the neuroprotection of the retina.