Julie Mares, M.S.P.H., Ph.D.
Professor
1063 WARF Office Building
610 North Walnut Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53705-2397
(608) 262-8044
| Degrees: | B.S. 1976, University of Illinois- Champaign-Urbana M.S.P.H. 1980, University of Illinois, School of Public Health- Chicago Ph.D. 1987, Nutritional Sciences. University of Wisconsin-Madison |
| Appointments: | Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Nutritional Sciences; Graduate Program in Population Health; Institute on Aging |
| Research: | Our Diet and Eye Health Team conducts research, teaching and community outreach directed toward improving relationships between food and health that supports healthy vision. We focus on eye health in older age, but are interested in approaches that sustainably contribute to overall general health and well-being of individuals of all ages and the communities in which we live. The primary goal of our research is to evaluate relationships of diet and nutritional status to the onset and progression of eye diseases that become common in old age: cataract, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy. We conduct studies in large population groups using epidemiological techniques in which foods eaten and lifestyles are compared in people whose eye photographs indicate that early stages of these conditions are present or absent. We evaluate many interrelated aspects of diet and healthy lifestyles. In some studies, we use a non-invasive flicker photometry test to evaluate levels of plant pigments (the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin) that accumulate in eye tissues and comprise macular pigment. We measure blood levels of vitamin D which reflects vitamin D from both diet and sunlight exposure. We currently focus on understanding broader aspects of diet and lifestyle that may promote health as we age. We collect extensive information about foods eaten, pills taken and other related aspects of lifestyle such as physical activity. We score responses for adherence to several nutrient-rich diet patterns and healthy lifestyles and study relationships of these to eye health across different groups of people. |
| Publications: | Parekh N, Voland RP, Moeller SM, Blodi BA, Ritenbaugh C,Chappell RJ, Wallace RB, Mares JA, for the CAREDS Research Study Group.2 Association between dietary fats and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in the Carotenoids in Age-Related Eye Disease Study (CAREDS), an ancillary study of the Women’s Health Initiative.1-3 Arch Ophthalmol. 2009;127(11):1483-1493. NIHMSID# 158609. Moeller SM, Voland R, Sarto GE, Gobel VL, Streicher SL and Mares JA. WHI diet intervention did not increase macular pigment optical density in an ancillary study of a subsample of the Women’s Health Initiative J Nutr. 2009 Sep;139(9):1692-9. Epub 2009 Jul8. PMCID# 2728692. Mares, JA, Voland R, Adler R, Tinker, Millen AE, Moeller SM, Blodi B, Gehrs K, Wallace RB, Chappell RJ, Neuhouser ML, Sarto G, for the CAREDS Research Study Group. Healthy Diets and the Subsequent Prevalence of Nuclear Cataract in Postmenopausal Women. Arch Ophthalmol. In Press. NIHMSID# 158606. Moeller, S, Voland, R, Tinker, L, Blodi, B, Klein, M, Gehrs, K., Johnson, E., Snodderly, M, Wallace, R, Chappell, R, Parekh, N, Ritenbaugh, C, Mares, JA. Associations between Age-Related Nuclear Cataract and Lutein and Zeaxanthin in the Diet and Serum in the Carotenoids in Age-Related Eye Disease Study (CAREDS), an Ancillary Study of the Women’s Health Initiative. Arch Ophthalmol (2008);126(3):354-364. PMCID# 2562026. LaRowe TL, Mares JA, Snodderly DM, Klein ML, Wooten BR, Chappell R. Macular Pigment Density and Age-Related Maculopathy in the Carotenoids in Age-Related Eye Disease Study, an ancillary study of the Women's Health Initiative. Ophthalmology, (2008) 115(5):876-883. Parekh N, Chappell RJ, Millen AE, Albert DM, Mares JA. Association between vitamin D and age-related macular degeneration in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988 through 1994. Arch Ophthalmol. 2007;125(5):661-669. Moeller SM, Parekh N, Tinker L, Ritenbaugh C, Blodi B, Wallace RB, Mares JA. Associations between intermediate age-related macular degeneration and lutein and zeaxanthin in the Carotenoids in Age-related Eye Disease Study (CAREDS): an ancillary study of the Women's Health Initiative, Arch Ophthalmol (2006)124: 1151-1162. Mares JA, LaRowe TL, Snodderly DM, Moeller SM, Gruber MJ, Klein ML, Wooten BR, Johnson EJ, Chappell R. Predictors of Optical Density of Lutein and Zeaxanthin in Retinas of Older Women in the Carotenoids in Age-Related Eye Disease Study, an ancillary study of the Women’s Health Initiative. Am J Clin Nutr. (2006);84:1107-22. Mares JA, Ficek T, Blodi B. Doctor What Vitamins Should I Take for My Eyes? Arch Ophthalmol 122: 628-635, 2004 Snodderly M, Mares JA, Wooten BR,Oxton LL, Gruber M, Ficek T. Macular Pigment Measurement by Heterochromatic Flicker Photometry in Older Subjects. The Carotenoids and Age-Related Eye disease Study (CAREDS). Invest Opthalmol Vis Sci 2004;45(2):531-538. |