Smoking a Risk Factor for Macular Degeneration

A study pooling the results from several eye-disease studies conducted on three continents shows that tobacco smoking is the principal known preventable risk factor for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The study was published in the April issue of Ophthalmology, the clinical journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Based on data collected from Australia, the Netherlands, and the United States, the study concluded that apart from age, tobacco smoking is the only risk factor consistently associated with any form of AMD in each location and overall. There is no known cure for dry AMD. Laser photocoagulation and photodynamic therapy can stabilize wet AMD if treatment is started early.

Although the study showed the prevalence of wet AMD to be twice that of dry AMD, this ratio was smaller in the Netherlands study. The researchers suggest that the explanation may be due to important genetic differences and gene-environment interactions among the three communities. They call for more research to identify genes that may predispose people to develop AMD.

"This study corroborates and reinforces previous studies that have suggested the link between tobacco smoking and the development of macular degeneration. The Academy supports the author's call for increased health advocacy efforts to reduce the smoking rate, including among the elderly,” said Paul Sternberg, Jr., M.D., AAO spokesperson.




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American Academy of Ophthalmology