Association of dietary niacin intake with diabetic retinopathy: A cross-sectional study

This study explores the association between dietary niacin and diabetic retinopathy (DR). Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-2018 were used in this cross-sectional investigation. The nonlinear relationship between dietary niacin and DR was investigated using weighted multivariate logistic regression and generalized additive models. The threshold effects were also calculated using a 2-stage linear regression model. In addition, subgroup analyses incorporating interaction assessments were undertaken. For this study, a total of 3990 eligible participants were included. DR had a negative association with dietary niacin after accounting for all variables (OR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.86, 1.00, P = .044), and this association remained stable across all subgroups. A nonlinear association was found in male subjects with an inflection point of 3.35 (10 mg). The discovery of a negative relationship between dietary niacin and DR in this research provides empirical support for the development of more sane dietary guidelines. It also suggests that daily dietary management enriched with niacin may be a feasible strategy with economic effects to improve DR.