Age-related macular degeneration, mortality linked

(HealthDay)—Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a predictor of poor survival, especially among women aged 80 years and older, according to a study published online May 4 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Kathryn L. Pedula, from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore., and colleagues conducted a prospective cohort study involving 1,202 women with graded fundus photographs at the Year 10 visit of the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (mean age, 79.5 years). The authors sought to examine the correlation between AMD and mortality. The presence and severity of AMD was graded in fundus photographs.

The researchers observed no significant correlation between AMD presence or severity with all-cause or cause-specific mortality overall. There was a significant interaction between AMD and age in predicting mortality. As a consequence, analyses were stratified according to age group. After adjustment for covariates, in women younger than 80 years, late AMD correlated with cardiovascular mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 2.61). Early AMD correlated with all-cause mortality and non-cardiovascular disease, non-cancer mortality (hazard ratios, 1.39 and 1.45, respectively) in women aged 80 years and older. Correlations were seen for any AMD and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality (hazard ratios, 1.42 and 1.45, respectively) in women aged 80 years and older.

"Thus, these results suggest that AMD may serve as a useful prognostic indicator for women who may benefit from risk factor modification, particularly those aged 80 and older," the authors write.

One author disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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