Risk factors for AMD

The risk factors for Macular Degeneration are many. Some are modifiable and some are not. Much of our research is dedicated to the modifiable factors contributing to Macular Degeneration, and how we can stave off the onset of this debilitating condition.

Unmodifiable Risk Factors       

• Age - the older you get, the more you are at risk of this condition manifesting itself.
• Family history - Family history of AMD is one of the most important and established risk factors for this condition.  In fact, having a first degree relative (i.e. parent/brother/sister) with AMD is believed to increase your risk of developing AMD threefold when compared to an individual without such a confirmed family of disease.
• Eye colour - A light iris colour is a suggested risk-factor for AMD. Although your eye colour is not-modifiable, the wearing of protective eyewear to filter out harmful radiation is a good idea in general, and particularly in the battle against AMD.
• Gender - Female gender is a suggested risk factor for AMD, and the link between female sex and development of AMD is believed to be hormone-related (i.e. oestrogen-related). However, the evidence available is not conclusive, and the greater prevalence of AMD in females may be due to the fact that females live longer.
• Ethnicity - Caucasians are associated with increased risk of AMD, reflected in the fact that that the prevalence of this disease is far greater in Caucasian populations when compared to non-Caucasian populations. However, the prevalence of AMD is on the increase in other races, probably due to the fact that western lifestyle habits are becoming more common worldwide (e.g. diets deficient in fruit and vegetable intake). 

Modifiable Risk Factors

• Smoking- smoking is one of the most damaging things you can choose to do as far as the macula is concerned. Cigarette smoking is one of the most important and established risk factors for AMD. The current evidence is broadly consistent across a range of study designs. Indeed, the risk of developing visually consequential AMD is two to three times greater among current smokers when compared with people who never smoked cigarettes.
• Diet - this is a big topic, and one about which we are, as a group, particularly interested, so it will be covered more fully in another article. Simply put, foodstuffs that are high in anti-oxidants are good for the macula. Foodstuffs high in Lutein, Zeaxanthin and Meso-Zeaxanthin, the three macular pigments, are good for the macula. Foods that produce lots of free radicals as a by-product of their metabolism are not good for the macula.
• Radiation - this is another big topic and will be covered in its own article. Blue light, or energetic visible light, is harmful to the macula.
• Obesity - this is the subject one one of our studies performed by Mark Kirby. Essentially, all the cells in the body compete for nutrients. The more cells there are, the more competition, and less macular pigment gets to where it should, reducing the levels of macular pigment and increasing the risk of AMD.
• Hypertension and high cholesterol - these two factors are thought to be related to the manifestation of AMD, but the research is not yet conclusive.