Purpose:
To establish if age–related macular degeneration ( AMD) shows geographical clustering in particular regions of Northern Ireland.
Methods:
Until recently all patients presenting with choroidal neovascularization in Northern Ireland were referred through the Medical Retinal Service in the Royal Hospitals for fluorescein angiography. All fluorescein angiograms carried out during the year 2002–2003 were reviewed and 120 patients were identified who had Stage 4b AMD providing a high level of ascertainment for this 1–year cohort sample. Demographic details were recorded and patient residence location was plotted on a map of Nothern Ireland by postal code using the Microsoft Autoroute programme. Northern Ireland is divided into 26 district council areas and the population demographics for each district council were obtained from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) website. The prevalence Stage 4b AMD was then calculated for each council region and was adjusted for age.
Results:
Our findings that there is an obvious difference in geographical spread of Stage 4b disease throughout the region with the prevalence ranging ranging from 0.00 – 0.07%. The prevalence data is shown graphically in figure 1.
Conclusions:
The study confirms our clinical impression of geographical differences in the prevalence of end–stage AMD in Northern Ireland. Preliminary analysis indicates a definite East toWest divide with increased prevalence in the eastof he region. We postulate that these differences could be related either to ancesteral genetic differences in the population or environmental factors.
Keywords: age-related macular degeneration • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence