May 2006
Volume 47, Issue 13
Free
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   May 2006
Macular Pigment Optical Density in Age–Related Maculopathy: Findings From the Health ABC Study
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • K. Gallaher
    UTHSC, Memphis, TN
    Ophthalmology/Hamilton Eye Institute,
  • M. Mura
    UTHSC, Memphis, TN
    Ophthalmology/Hamilton Eye Institute,
    Ophthalmology, Univ. Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
  • J. Armstrong
    Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Univ. Wisconsin, Madison, WI
  • W.A. Todd
    UTHSC, Memphis, TN
    Ophthalmology/Hamilton Eye Institute,
  • S. Satterfield
    UTHSC, Memphis, TN
    Preventive Medicine,
  • E. Kenyon
    Epidemiology & Biostatistics, UCSF, San Francisco, CA
  • T. Harris
    NIA, NIH, Bethesda, MD
  • K.C. Johnson
    UTHSC, Memphis, TN
    Preventive Medicine,
  • S.B. Kritchevsky
    UTHSC, Memphis, TN
    Preventive Medicine,
    J.P. Sticht Center on Aging, Wake Forest Univ., Winston–Salem, NC
  • A. Iannaccone
    UTHSC, Memphis, TN
    Ophthalmology/Hamilton Eye Institute,
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships  K. Gallaher, None; M. Mura, None; J. Armstrong, None; W.A. Todd, None; S. Satterfield, None; E. Kenyon, None; T. Harris, None; K.C. Johnson, None; S.B. Kritchevsky, None; A. Iannaccone, Bausch & Lomb; Kemin Foods, F.
  • Footnotes
    Support  NIH grants K23 EY000409, N01 AG62101, N01 AG62103, N01 AG62106, T35 DK07405, IRRF; RPB; Bausch & Lomb; Kemin Foods
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science May 2006, Vol.47, 5668. doi:
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      K. Gallaher, M. Mura, J. Armstrong, W.A. Todd, S. Satterfield, E. Kenyon, T. Harris, K.C. Johnson, S.B. Kritchevsky, A. Iannaccone; Macular Pigment Optical Density in Age–Related Maculopathy: Findings From the Health ABC Study . Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2006;47(13):5668.

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      © ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)

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Abstract

Purpose: : To report the macular pigment optical density (MPOD) characteristics and test–retest reliability in subjects with age–related maculopathy (ARM).

Methods: : MPOD was estimated with a heterochromatic flicker photometry–based method at 0.5 degrees of eccentricity from the fovea in a sample of 110 subjects with ARM [mean age: 79.4 yo, 56% females, 48% lutein supplement users (LSUs)] participating in ARMA, an investigation on aging and ARM ancillary to the Health ABC Study. Fundus features were graded in a blinded fashion according to the original AREDS classification system. MPOD test–retest variability was assessed in 14 subjects with early ARM (AREDS category 3) who had successfully completed a baseline MPOD session.

Results: : MPOD estimates could be obtained in 79 (72%) of the affected participants, but only few AREDS category 4 (advanced ARM) subjects had sufficient visual acuity to complete testing. The mean MPOD was 0.36±0.21, which is not significantly different from our previously reported normal values (0.34 ± 0.21) in elderly subjects in the same age range (n=228), even after controlling for LSU status. However, unlike normal subjects, the MPOD of ARM subjects showed a bimodal distribution, with one peak below and one above the mean. This distribution remained apparent also after stratifying subjects by LSU. LSUs did not have higher MPOD than non–LSUs, which is also different from what we have reported for healthy subjects. Test–retest reliability was good (Pearson’s r: 0.71), with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 17% (12% without two obvious outliers), which compares favorably with our previous experience in normal subjects (Pearson’s r: 0.76; CV: 17.1%; n=39).

Conclusions: : In this sample, average MPOD was not per se reduced in ARM compared to normal subjects. However, the identification of subsets of subjects with low MPOD suggests that reduced MPOD may be a feature of only some cases of ARM. Confounding from LSU (e.g., dosage), other related (e.g., diet) or otherwise yet unaccounted for variables cannot be presently ruled out. MPOD estimates appear to be a suitable outcome measure for longitudinal observational studies and lutein supplementation trials of ARM, especially in patients without advanced disease.

Keywords: macular pigment • age-related macular degeneration • clinical research methodology 
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