Sociodemographic factors and age-related macular degeneration in Latinos: the Los Angeles Latino Eye Study.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the association of various sociodemographic factors and early and advanced (geographic atrophy, exudative) age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in Latinos.


METHODS
Population-based, cross-sectional study


METHODS
The study population included Latinos (primarily Mexican-American) aged 40 years and older living in La Puente, California. Sociodemographic factors, obtained from an interviewer-administered questionnaire, included age, sex, Native American ancestry, acculturation, country of birth, employment, income, marital status, health insurance, and education level. All participants underwent complete ophthalmic examination. AMD was diagnosed from stereoscopic macular photographs. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression was used to assess associations between sociodemographic factors and AMD.


RESULTS
Gradable retinal photographs from 5875 participants were included. Mean participant age was 54.9 years, 42% were male, and 5% had Native American ancestry. Stepwise logistic regression analyses indicated that age, sex, and being born in the United States were associated with early AMD (odds ratio [OR] = 1.8, 1.8, and 0.80, respectively). Native American ancestry was the associated with any advanced AMD and geographic atrophy (OR = 3.8 and 16.4, respectively). Family history of AMD was also associated with geographic atrophy (OR = 28.1). Acculturation was not associated with AMD.


CONCLUSIONS
Independent risk indicators for the various types of AMD include older age, male sex, being born outside of the United States, Native American ancestry, and a family history of AMD. These risk factors were independent of other possible behavioral factors such as smoking and alcohol consumption.
Fraser-Bell
Samantha
S
Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.
Donofrio
Jill
J
Wu
Joanne
J
Klein
Ronald
R
Azen
Stanley P
SP
Varma
Rohit
R
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology*; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010781:Photography; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors