title: Vitamin D deficiency in neovascular versus nonneovascular age-related macular degeneration.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (NVAMD) with patients with nonneovascular age-related macular degeneration and control patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical records of all patients diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration and tested for serum 25OHD level at a single medical center were reviewed. Control patients were selected from patients diagnosed with pseudophakia but without age-related macular degeneration. The lowest 25OHD level available for each patient was recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred sixteen patients with nonneovascular age-related macular degeneration, 146 with NVAMD, and 100 non-age-related macular degeneration control patients were included. The levels of 25OHD (mean ± SD) were significantly lower in NVAMD patients (26.1 ± 14.4 ng/mL) versus nonneovascular age-related macular degeneration (31.5 ± 18.2 ng/mL, P = 0.003) and control (29.4 ± 10.1 ng/mL, P = 0.049) patients. The prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency (<30 ng/mL 25OHD), deficiency (<20 ng/mL), and severe deficiency (<10 ng/mL) were highest in the NVAMD group. The highest quintile of 25OHD was associated with a 0.35 (95% confidence interval, 0.18-0.68) odds ratio for NVAMD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the largest study to compare 25OHD levels in patients with the different clinical forms of age-related macular degeneration. Mean 25OHD levels were lower and vitamin D deficiency was more prevalent in NVAMD patients. These associations suggest that further research is necessary regarding vitamin D deficiency as a potentially modifiable risk factor for the development of NVAMD.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University Medical Center; †Department of Ophthalmology, Stanford Medical Center; ‡Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center; §Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Centers, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina; ¶The Carolinas Center for Medical Excellence, Cary, North Carolina; and **Division of Biostatistics, Duke University Medical Center.
authors.forename: Sujit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Itty
authors.forename: Shelley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Day
authors.forename: Kenneth W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Lyles
authors.forename: Sandra S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Stinnett
authors.forename: Lejla M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Vajzovic
authors.forename: Prithvi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mruthyunjaya
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D005260:Female; D057092:Geographic Atrophy / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019591:Pseudophakia / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D057135:Wet Macular Degeneration / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D