Lutein ester and choroidal thickness in children
What it found
In a six-month trial in children, a daily lutein ester supplement reduced thinning of the choroid, the layer behind the retina, at some locations.
The authors say this is early evidence and longer studies are needed.
What they found
Studies in people
Choroidal thinning slowed
The control group's choroid thinned by about 8.92 µm under the fovea over six months, while the lutein group's choroid stayed about the same (a slight increase of 1.16 µm). The difference between groups was 10.08 µm, which the authors say is statistically significant.
Temporal choroid also affected
At two locations on the temporal side, the control group's choroid thinned by 16.76 µm and 15.77 µm, while the lutein group thinned much less (2.83 µm and 1.24 µm). The differences were 13.93 µm and 14.53 µm, both statistically significant.
Other areas unchanged
At the other six locations measured, there was no significant difference in choroidal thinning between the lutein and placebo groups.
Eye length and refraction
The lutein group had a smaller increase in axial length (0.13 mm vs. 0.16 mm) and a small change in spherical equivalent refraction, but these differences were not statistically significant.
No side effects reported
No adverse events were reported during the trial, and all participants took their sachets as instructed.
What the authors conclude
“Six-month lutein ester supplementation could effectively mitigate subfoveal and temporal choroidal thinning.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that six-month lutein ester supplementation could effectively mitigate subfoveal and temporal choroidal thinning.
- They say this finding provides mechanistic support for the potential of nutritional interventions to influence a key biomarker in myopia development.
- They call for future long-term studies to determine whether this structural effect translates into a clinically meaningful slowdown of axial elongation and myopia progression.
How it was done
Myopia is a growing eye problem worldwide, and thinning of the choroid is an early sign of its progression. The authors wanted to see if lutein, a nutrient from fruits and vegetables, could affect this early sign in children.
They recruited 180 children aged eight to twelve from a school in China and randomly assigned them to take either a daily sachet with 8 mg lutein ester or a placebo sachet for six months. The children were examined at the start and after six months to measure choroidal thickness and other eye measures.
What it can’t tell you
- The study lasted only six months, so it cannot show whether the effect on choroidal thickness leads to less myopia over time.
- The children were all from one region in China, so the results may not apply to children elsewhere or of other ethnicities.
- The trial did not find significant changes in eye length or refraction, so it cannot show that lutein prevents or slows myopia itself.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- Disclosure: T. Li , None; J. Li , None; C. Deng , None; F. Yang , None; J. Ran , None; E. Wang , None; W. Qin , None; M. Yang , None; X. Li , None; L. Li , None; D. Wang , None; H. Wang , None; Z. Xu , None; Y. Guo , None; A. Wang , None; W. Lu , None; Z. Li , None; X. Qian , None; J. Yan , None
- Authors work at
- Tianjin Medical University, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environment, China; Tianjin Medical University Eye Hospital, China
The paper
- Title
- Effect of Lutein Ester Supplement on Choroidal Thickness in Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Li T, Li J, Deng C, et al (2025). Effect of Lutein Ester Supplement on Choroidal Thickness in Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Translational vision science & technology. doi:10.1167/tvst.14.12.7Free full textPubMed 41342624DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error