Age-Related Macular Degeneration Effects Sight
Posted by on Jan 4, 2010 in Smoking Increases Women's Risk of Blindness
Older women who smoke could be at greater risk of contracting age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease which can lead to blindness, according to new research.
A team of researchers, led by Dr Anne Coleman at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California in Los Angeles, wanted to estimate the incidence of AMD with respect to alcohol use and smoking with a group of older women.
A total of 1,958 women with an average age of 78.2 years participated in the study.
Retinal photographs were taken of the women at the ages of 78 years and 83 years and they were then graded according to their risk factors.
The report revealed that the overall incidence of AMD, over a five-year period, was 24.1 per cent for early AMD incidence and 5.7 per cent for late AMD incidence.
According to the report, older smokers have an 11 per cent higher rate of AMD than non-smokers.
Dr Coleman said: "This research provides the first accurate snapshot of how smoking affects AMD risk later in life.
"The magnitude of the greater-than-additive effect of smoking on the age-adjusted risk of AMD reinforces recommendations to quit smoking even for older individuals … The take-home message is that it's never too late to quit smoking."
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