Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) In An Asian Population

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Article Date: 04 Aug 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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AMD erodes and can eventually destroy the central vision needed for reading, driving, and other daily tasks. When AMD risk levels among racial and ethnic groups are compared, Caucasians are usually identified as at highest risk. Asians in particular have been assumed to have lower risk.

Recently Ryo Kawasaki, MD, and colleagues compared the prevalence of early and late AMD in approximately 4,000 residents of Funagata, Japan, to the rate in white participants in the Australian Blue Mountains Eye Study (BMES); diagnostic definitions were identical in the two studies and age standardization enhanced data comparability. Importantly, the Funagata study is the first in a Japanese population to confirm a link between smoking and AMD prevalence.

The overall AMD prevalence rate in right eyes was 4.1 percent for the Funagata study, very close to the BMES rate of 4.4.percent. Prevalence of late AMD in men was also comparable for the two groups, 1.1 percent for Funagata participants and 1.2 percent for BMES, but was markedly different for the two groups of women: 0.3 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.

The authors note that these findings need to be confirmed by larger studies in Asian populations. Two earlier studies also found a higher prevalence of late AMD in Asian men, in contrast with most studies in Caucasians where rates are higher for women. The authors think a key reason may be that 36.8 percent of the Funagata men smoked, but only 2.8 percent of the women. In the BMES study, 14.4 percent of women were smokers. While many Asian men smoke, the habit is less socially acceptable for women.

"As smoking is a well-recognized, modifiable AMD risk factor, smoking cessation is an important public health measure to reduce AMD, particularly among Japanese men," Dr. Kawasaki says.

"Prevalence and Risk Factors for Age-Related Macular Degeneration in an Adult Japanese Population The Funagata Study"
Ryo Kawasaki MD, MPH , Jie Jin Wang MMed, PhD, Gui-jin Ji PhD, Bronwen Taylor BTech(Optoelectronics) Hons, Toshihide Oizumi MD, PhD, Makoto Daimon MD, PhD, Takeo Kato MD, PhD, Sumio Kawata MD, PhD, Takamasa Kayama MD, PhD, Yasuo Tano MD, PhD, Paul Mitchell MD, PhD, Hidetoshi Yamashita MD, PhD and Tien Yin Wong MPH, PhD
Ophthalmology Volume 115, Issue 8, August 2008, Pages 1376-1381.e2
doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2007.11.015
Click here to view abstract online

Ophthalmology, the official journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, publishes original, peer-reviewed reports of research in ophthalmology, including basic science investigations and clinical studies. Topics include new diagnostic and surgical techniques, treatment methods, instrument updates, the latest drug findings, results of clinical trials, and research findings. Ophthalmology also publishes major reviews of specific topics by acknowledged authorities.

About the American Academy of Ophthalmology

The American Academy of Ophthalmology is the world's largest association of eye physicians and surgeons - Eye M.D.s - with more than 27,000 members worldwide. Eye health care is provided by the three "O's" - opticians, optometrists and ophthalmologists. It is the ophthalmologist, or Eye M.D., who can treat it all: eye diseases and injuries, and perform eye surgery. To find an Eye M.D. in your area, visit the Academy's Web site at www.aao.org.

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