title: Prevalence of age-related macular degeneration among the elderly.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of visual impairment and blindness in elderly population in the developing countries. Previous epidemiological studies revealed various potential modifiable risk factors for this disease. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of AMD among elderly living in Babol, North of Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study population of this cross-sectional study came from the Amirkola Health and Ageing Project (AHAP), the first comprehensive cohort study of the health of people aged 60 years and over in Amirkola, North of Iran. The prevalence of AMD was estimated and its risk was determined using logistic regression analysis (LRA) with regard to variables such as smoking, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and diabetes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five hundred and five participants with mean age of 71.55±5.9 (ranged 60-89) years entered the study. The prevalence of AMD was 17.6%. There was a significant association between AMD and smoking (P<0.001) but no association was seen with AMD and age, level of education, history of hyperlipidemia, hypertension and diabetes. Multiple LRAs revealed that smoking increased AMD by odds ratio of 5.03 (95% confidence interval 2.47-10.23 p<0.001) as compared to nonsmokers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  According to our findings, the prevalence of AMD was relatively high and smoking increased the risk of AMD in the elderly population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ayatollah Rouhani Hospital, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Ahmad
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Rasoulinejad
authors.affiliation: Student Research Committee, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Amin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zarghami
authors.affiliation: Social Determinants of Health (SDH) Research Center, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Reza
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Hosseini
authors.affiliation: Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Neda
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rajaee
authors.affiliation: Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Elahe
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Rasoulinejad
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ayatollah Rouhani Hospital, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Ebrahim
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mikaniki
keywords: Aged; Macular Degeneration; Risk factors; Smoker