Refractive errors and 10-year incidence of age-related maculopathy.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the relationship of refractive errors to the 10-year incidence of age-related maculopathy (ARM) in a defined white population.


METHODS
Persons aged 43 to 86 years of age in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, were invited for a baseline examination from 1988 through 1990, and follow-up examinations 5 and 10 years later (n = 3684). Refraction was measured at baseline, with myopia defined as a spherical equivalent of -1.00 D or less, emmetropia as -0.75 to +0.75 D and hyperopia as +1.00 D or more. At each examination, signs of ARM were ascertained from grading stereoscopic color fundus photographs based on a standard protocol. The association between baseline refractive status and the 10-year incidence and progression of ARM was analyzed.


RESULTS
The 10-year cumulative incidence for early ARM was 7.1%, 7.7%, and 11.7%, in eyes with myopia, emmetropia, and hyperopia, respectively. The corresponding 10-year cumulative incidence for late ARM was 0.3%, 0.8%, and 2.2%. When age was controlled for, there was no association between myopia and incident early (relative risk [RR] 1.0, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.7-1.3) and late (RR 0.5, 95% CI, 0.2-1.5) ARM. Similarly, after controlling for age, hyperopia was not associated with incident early (RR 0.9, 95% CI, 0.7-1.1) or late (RR 1.2, 95% CI, 0.6-2.3) ARM.


CONCLUSIONS
These prospective population-based data provide no evidence of an association between refractive errors and risk of ARM.
Wong
Tien Yin
TY
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA. ophwty@nus.edu.sg
Klein
Ronald
R
Klein
Barbara E K
BE
Tomany
Sandra C
SC
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012030:Refractive Errors / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D014922:Wisconsin / Q000453:epidemiology