Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Age-related Macular Degeneration in An Elderly Chinese Population in Taiwan: the Shihpai Eye Study
Shih-Jen Chen 1*,
Ching-Yu Cheng 2,
Kai-Ling Peng 2,
An-Fei Li 2,
Wen-Ming Hsu 2,
Jorn-Hon Liu 3,
and
Pesus Chou 4
1 Department of Ophthalmology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, 201 Section 2 Shihpai Rd., Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Department of Ophthalmology, Taipei, 112, Taiwan - Republic of China
2 Department of Ophthalmology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan - Republic of China
3 Department of Ophthalmology, Cheng Hsin Rehabilitation Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan - Republic of China
4 Community Medicine Research Center & Institute of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan - Republic of China
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: sjchen{at}vghtpe.gov.tw.
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Abstract |
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Purpose: To assess the prevalence and associated risk factors of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in an elderly Chinese population in Taiwan.
Methods: The Shihpai Eye Study was a survey of vision and ocular disease among an elderly Chinese population 65 years of age or older residing in Shihpai, Taipei, Taiwan. Of 2045 elderly residents randomly sampled from the household registration databank, 1361 (66.6%) underwent a detailed ophthalmic examination, which included fundus color slides by fundus camera (TRC-50IA; Topcon) after pupil dilatation. Photographs were graded using a Wisconsin Age-Related Maculopathy Grading System.
Results: Fundus photographs were available for 1105 (54.0% in the eligible, 81.2% in the ocular examined) participants. The 47 (4.3%) participants who had ungradable fundus images were older and had more lens opacity. Of the 1058 gradable photographs, the prevalence of early AMD was 9.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 7.8-10.8); of late AMD, 1.9% (95% CI, 1.3-2.7); of soft drusen, 42.2 (95% CI, 39.7-44.8); of soft indistinct drusen, 4.1% (95% CI, 3.1-5.2); and of any pigmentary change, 8.6% (95% CI, 7.2-10.2). Age is the most significant factor associated with both early and late AMD. The prevalence of early AMD rose from 5.0% in the 65-69 year age group to 24.4% in those aged 80 years and over; and for late AMD, from 1.0% to 9.0%. Those who currently drank alcohol had lower rate of early AMD than the non-drinker (adjusted odd ratio 0.32, 95% CI: 0.11-0.93, p=0.037).
Conclusions: AMD is a common eye disease in the elderly Chinese people in Taiwan. The adjusted prevalence rate of exudative AMD is comparable to that of Chinese people in the Multi-ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) done in USA but is higher than the Chinese people in the Beijing study in China. Further studies are needed to clarify the incidence and risk factors associated.
Key Words:
age-related macular degeneration, prevalence, Chinese, risk factor
