Smoking Doubles Risk of Macular Degeneration
Reported April 18, 2005
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — A new study shows smoking may double the risk of macular degeneration — a progressive and irreversible eye condition.
Age-related macular degeneration is common in older people. There is no treatment to restore vision loss in people with macular degeneration.
Previous studies have identified smoking as a risk factor for AMD. However, these studies have not included many people over age 75.
Researchers in the United Kingdom have released a study based on a representative sample of over 4,000 people, ages 75 and older. Participants underwent a series of detailed eye tests and were asked about smoking habits and whether they had quit.
After taking into account other risk factors, such as alcohol consumption and cardiovascular disease, results showed current smokers were twice as likely to be visually impaired than non-smokers. However, those who quit smoking more than 20 years previously were not at risk.
Based on the numbers of people in the United Kingdom who are blind or who are partially sighted as a result of macular degeneration, the authors calculated smoking was likely to have caused up to 30,000 cases of macular degeneration.
SOURCE: British Journal of Ophthalmology, 2005;89:550-553