Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Sep;121(9):1766-72.
doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2014.03.013. Epub 2014 Apr 24.

Five-year incidence, progression, and risk factors for age-related macular degeneration: the age, gene/environment susceptibility study

Fridbert Jonasson  1 , Diana E Fisher  2 , Gudny Eiriksdottir  3 , Sigurdur Sigurdsson  3 , Ronald Klein  4 , Lenore J Launer  5 , Tamara Harris  5 , Vilmundur Gudnason  6 , Mary Frances Cotch  2
Affiliations

Five-year incidence, progression, and risk factors for age-related macular degeneration: the age, gene/environment susceptibility study

Fridbert Jonasson et al. Ophthalmology. 2014 Sep.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the incidence and progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and associated risk factors.

Design: Population-based, prospective, cohort study.

Participants: We included 2868 participants from the Age Gene/Environment Susceptibility-Reykjavik Study with retinal data at baseline and 5-year follow-up.

Methods: Digital macular photographs were graded for presence of AMD. Participants completed a questionnaire and extensive clinical battery. Biomarkers were assessed. Risk factors for AMD were analyzed using multivariate regression analysis with odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs.

Main outcome measures: We assessed AMD, defined as early or late.

Results: Among 2196 participants free of AMD at baseline, 14.9% developed incident AMD. In multivariate models, incident AMD was significantly associated with age (OR per year, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.11-1.17), current smoking (OR, 2.07; 95% CI, 1.38-3.11), former smoking (OR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.04-1.79), plasma high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level (OR, 1.62 per mmol/L; 95% CI, 1.19-2.22), and body mass index (BMI; OR, 1.04 per kg/m(2); 95% CI, 1.01-1.07). Among 563 participants with early AMD at baseline, 22.7% progressed to late AMD (11.0% pure geographic atrophy [GA] and 11.7% exudative AMD). On multivariate analyses, age was significantly associated with progression to GA (OR 1.14; 95% CI, 1.07-1.21) and exudative AMD (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.01-1.14). Adjusting for age, female sex was associated with exudative AMD (OR, 2.10; 95% CI, 1.10-3.98) and plasma HDL cholesterol with GA (OR, 2.03 per mmol/L; 95% CI, 1.02-4.05).

Conclusions: By age 85, 57.4% of participants had signs of AMD. Age, smoking, plasma HDL cholesterol, BMI, and female sex are associated with AMD. Elevated HDL cholesterol is associated with GA development.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

The authors have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart depicting sample selection, including reasons for non-participation in the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility-Reykjavik Study (AGES)-II examination.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Klein R, Lee KE, Gangnon RE, Klein BE. Incidence of visual impairment over a 20-year period: the Beaver Dam Eye Study. Ophthalmology. 2013;120:1210–1219. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Klaver CW, Wolfs RW, Vingerling JR, et al. Age-specific prevalence and causes of blindness and visual impairment in an older population: the Rotterdam Study. Arch Ophthalmol. 1998;116:653–658. - PubMed
    1. Eye Diseases Prevalence Research Group. Causes and prevalence of visual impairment among adults in the United States. Arch Ophthalmol. 2004;122:477–485. - PubMed
    1. Gunnlaugsdottir E, Arnarsson A, Jonasson F. Prevalence and causes of visual impairment and blindness in Icelanders aged 50 years and older: the Reykjavik Eye Study. Acta Ophthalmol. 2008;86:778–785. - PubMed
    1. Wang JJ, Foran S, Mitchell P. Age-specific prevalence and causes of bilateral and unilateral visual impairment in older Australians: the Blue Mountains Eye Study. Clin Experiment Ophthalmol. 2000;28:268–273. - PubMed

Publication types