Abstract
Purpose :
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in people over the age of 65 throughout the world. Researchers have shown that AMD shares similarities with atherosclerotic diseases in epidemiologic, genetic, and pathological aspects, which leads to studies hypothesizing that Statins may exert a protective effect in AMD patients. Therefore, this study aims to determine whether Statin therapy reduces the risk of developing AMD in patients with dyslipidemia among the Taiwanese population.
Methods :
A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the Chang Gung Research Database (CGRD). A total of 20,497 patients with dyslipidemia were enrolled in this study from January, 2010 to December, 2015. Statin-users were identified based on a medication possession rate (MPR) of 50% or more. A Cox proportional hazards model was applied to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) for AMD in the Statin-users cohort compared with the non-users cohort.
Results :
Of the 20,497 patients with dyslipidemia, 7516 patients were identified as Statin-users (MPR>50%) and 12,981 patients as non-users (MPR<50%). After adjustment for the comorbidities and accounting for the influence of competing risk factors, no statistically significant difference in the risk of developing AMD was observed between Statin-users (HR=0.96, CI=0.82-1.11; p=0.5669) and non-users. Within the Statin-users group, further stratification was conducted based on Statin exposure time, distinguishing patients with higher Statin exposure time (MPR>80%) from those with lower Statin exposure time (MPR=50%-80%). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed no statistically significant difference in the cumulative incidence of AMD among Statin-users, regardless of their MPR level, in comparison to the non-users throughout the follow-up period (log-rank test, P >0.05).
Conclusions :
No statistically significant differences in the risk of developing AMD were observed between Statin-users and non-users in patients with dyslipidemia over a 5-year period, and our results are consistent with the findings in the majority of previous studies. While Statins have been demonstrated to lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases, our study does not support their beneficial impact on reducing the risk of developing AMD in patients with dyslipidemia among the Taiwanese population.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.