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
. 2024 Sep;102(6):703-713.
doi: 10.1111/aos.16681. Epub 2024 Apr 10.

Analysis of prognostic and predictive factors in neovascular age-related macular degeneration Kuopio cohort

Hanna Heloterä  1 , Leea Siintamo  2 , Niko Kivinen  2 , Nicholas Abrahamsson  3 , Vesa Aaltonen  3 , Kai Kaarniranta  1   2   4
Affiliations
Free article

Analysis of prognostic and predictive factors in neovascular age-related macular degeneration Kuopio cohort

Hanna Heloterä et al. Acta Ophthalmol. 2024 Sep.
Free article

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the study was to explore factors affecting the progression of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and identify predictive factors that can estimate the duration of intravitreal treatments.

Methods: This retrospective real-world study included 421 nAMD patients treated at the Kuopio University Hospital during years 2007-2021. The collected data included background demographics, treatment history, visual acuity and retinal biomarker analysis. Impact of baseline factors on age at diagnosis, treatment duration, received treatment intensity and visual acuity gains were analysed.

Results: Heavy smoking and high body mass index (BMI) were associated with an earlier onset, while the use of anticoagulation and anti-aggregation medication were associated with a later onset of nAMD. A low number of injections during the first year of treatment and the presence of intraretinal fluid (IRF) at baseline were associated with shorter treatment duration. Interestingly, when IRF only patients were compared to subretinal fluid (SRF) only patients, IRF patients showed higher occurrences of subretinal drusenoid deposits (43.5% vs. 15%, p = 0.04). In addition, when all patients with IRF were compared to SRF only patients, more hyperreflective foci (HRF) and complete RPE and outer retinal atrophy (cRORA; 20.7% vs. 5%, p = 0.02) were observed in patients with IRF.

Conclusions: Our results reveal that heavy smoking and high BMI are accelerating factors for earlier emergence of nAMD, while the presence of IRF results in a fast-progressing disease. More intriguingly, the link between IRF and appearance of subretinal drusenoid deposits, HRF, and increased retinal atrophy was observed.

Keywords: ageing; atrophy; degeneration; injection; intravitreal; macula; retina.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Agron, E., Mares, J., Clemons, T.E., Swaroop, A., Chew, E.Y., Keenan, T.D.L. et al. (2021) Dietary nutrient intake and progression to late age‐related macular degeneration in the age‐related eye disease studies 1 and 2. Ophthalmology, 128, 425–442.
    1. Barua, R.S. & Ambrose, J.A. (2013) Mechanisms of coronary thrombosis in cigarette smoke exposure. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 33, 1460–1467.
    1. Chakravarthy, U., Armendariz, B.G. & Fauser, S. (2022) 15 years of anti‐VEGF treatment for nAMD: success or failure or something in between? Eye (London, England), 36, 2232–2233.
    1. Echols, B.S., Clark, M.E., Swain, T.A., Chen, L., Kar, D., Zhang, Y. et al. (2020) Hyperreflective foci and specks are associated with delayed rod‐mediated dark adaptation in Nonneovascular age‐related macular degeneration. Ophthalmology Retina, 4, 1059–1068.
    1. Faber, D.R., de Groot, P.G. & Visseren, F.L. (2009) Role of adipose tissue in haemostasis, coagulation and fibrinolysis. Obesity Reviews, 10, 554–563.

MeSH terms

Substances