Alcohol consumption and risk of aging macula disorder in a general population: the Rotterdam Study.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the possible relationship between overall or specific alcohol consumption and risk of aging macula disorder (AMD), a synonym for age-related macular degeneration, in a general population.


METHODS
Alcohol consumption and risk of early or late incident AMD (iAMD) were examined among all participants in the prospective population-based Rotterdam Study, with complete data on alcohol consumption among 4229 subjects at risk of AMD. Aging macula disorder was graded according to the International Classification and Grading System for AMD by 2 trained professionals who were masked for all other determinants. We used Cox proportional hazards regression models to estimate hazard ratios and corresponding 95% confidence intervals.


RESULTS
During a mean follow-up period of 8.0 years, 600 cases of iAMD were identified, of which 519 were early iAMD and 81 were late iAMD. After correction for age, sex, smoking, complement factor H genotype status, and other potential confounders, we did not find an association between overall or specific alcohol consumption and development of early iAMD or dry or wet late iAMD.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that overall or specific alcohol consumption is not a risk factor for AMD.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Sharmila S
SS
Boekhoorn
Johannes R
JR
Vingerling
Albert
A
Hofman
Paulus T V M
PT
de Jong
D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors