title: The association of age-related macular degeneration and lens opacities in the aged.
abstract: Data from 3,087 persons age 45 or older in the National Health and Nutrition Survey, 1971-74, showed that subjects with lens opacifying disease had an increased odds for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) compared to those who had no lens opacities. The crude odds ratio for aphakic patients was 4.6 (95% CI = 2.5, 8.6). The association remained after controlling for age, sex, and systolic blood pressure (a common risk factor) in a logistic regression model. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that light-induced damage may contribute to both lens and retinal disease and suggest that cataract extraction without implantation of ultra-violet/blue light absorbing intraocular lens may place subjects at increased risk of AMD.
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology, Demography, and Biometry Program, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD 20892.
authors.forename: I Y
authors.initials: IY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: A Z
authors.initials: AZ
authors.lastname: LaCroix
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology*; D002386:Cataract / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States