Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To assess the association of various ocular factors and early (soft indistinct drusen, retinal pigment abnormalities) and advanced (geographic atrophy, exudative AMD) age–related macular degeneration (AMD) in Latinos. Methods: The LALES is a population–based study of eye disease in primarily Mexican–American Latinos aged 40 years and older. Complete ophthalmic examination of participants included subjective refraction, ultrasound measurement of axial length, and a slit lamp evaluation of iris color and grading of lens opacities. Stereoscopic macular photographs were graded in a masked manner for AMD lesions. GEE analysis was used to estimate odds ratios after adjusting for age, sex, smoking, and alcohol consumption. Results: Gradable macular photographs of 11381 eyes from 5875 participants were included. Prior cataract surgery was associated with an increased the risk of advanced AMD (OR:3.2, p=0.049). The presence of any lens opacity was associated with an increased risk of soft drusen (OR:1.3, p=0.02). There were no other significant associations of lens changes with AMD. Light iris color decreased the risk of early AMD (OR:0.8, p=0.01) and longer axial length (per mm) was associated with a decreased risk of soft drusen (OR:0.8, p<0.001), increased retinal pigment (OR:0.8, p=0.0002), early AMD (OR:0.9, p=0.006), and geographic atrophy (OR:0.6, p=0.01). Conclusions: Prior cataract extraction was associated with an increased risk of advanced AMD. Longer axial length and light iris color was protective from early AMD and soft drusen. Additional longitudinal data are needed to further assess the association of ocular factors with AMD.
Keywords: age–related macular degeneration