A new study has shown eating eggs could significantly reduce the risk of developing late-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Using data from the Australian Blue Mountain Eye Study relating to more than 2,000 patients over a 15-year follow-up period, researchers found participants who ate two to four eggs a week were 62% less likely to develop wet or neovascular AMD than those who ate one or no eggs a week. While those whose AMD onset occurred at or before the 10-year follow-up period had a 54% reduced risk of developing late-stage AMD if they ate two to four eggs a week and a 65% reduced risk if they ate five or six eggs a week.

Eggs are a rich source of the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, which are naturally occuring in the back of the eye and can minimise oxidative stress and inflammation, said Associate Professor Bamini Gopinath, an epidemiologist at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research and lead author of the study.