title: Prevalence of age-related macular degeneration in Greece: the Thessaloniki Eye Study.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: II Department of Ophthalmology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece. ftopouzis@otenet.ge
authors.forename: Fotis
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Topouzis
authors.forename: Anne L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Coleman
authors.forename: Alon
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: Eleftherios
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Anastasopoulos
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Archimidis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koskosas
authors.forename: Theofanis
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pappas
authors.forename: Leonidas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mavroudis
authors.forename: M Roy
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: 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