Prevalence of age-related macular degeneration in Greece: the Thessaloniki Eye Study.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the age- and gender-specific prevalence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in a population-based sample of subjects 60 years of age or older in Thessaloniki, Greece.


METHODS
Cross-sectional population-based study.


METHODS
A total of 2554 subjects randomly identified from municipality registers in Thessaloniki underwent a complete ophthalmologic examination.


RESULTS
Of the 3617 eligible subjects, 2554 (71%) participants completed a clinical examination. The prevalence was 2.5% for AMD, 1.4% for neovascular (NV) AMD, and 1.3% for geographic atrophy (GA). Bilateral AMD was present in 40% of AMD cases. The prevalence of AMD, NV, GA, and bilateral AMD increased with increasing age (P< .0001). No gender-specific statistically significant differences were noted. Of all participants with AMD, 67% were unaware of the diagnosis.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of AMD in Greece is comparable to that in other Caucasian populations. A dramatic increase in prevalence in people older than 80 years of age was observed.
Topouzis
Fotis
F
II Department of Ophthalmology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece. ftopouzis@otenet.ge
Coleman
Anne L
AL
Harris
Alon
A
Anastasopoulos
Eleftherios
E
Yu
Fei
F
Koskosas
Archimidis
A
Pappas
Theofanis
T
Mavroudis
Leonidas
L
Wilson
M Roy
MR
D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution