Prevalence of Age-Related Macular Degeneration in 4 Racial/Ethnic Groups in the Multi-ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
Received 18 May 2005; accepted 1 December 2005.
Objective
To describe the prevalence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in 4 racial/ethnic groups (white, black, Hispanic, and Chinese) that participated in the second examination of the Multi-ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).
Design
Prospective cohort study.
Participants
Six thousand one hundred seventy-six 45- to 85-year-old subjects selected from 6 United States communities.
Methods
Fundus images were taken using a 45° digital camera through dark-adapted pupils and were graded for drusen size, type, area, increased retinal pigment, retinal pigment epithelial depigmentation, neovascular lesions, and geographic atrophy using the modified Wisconsin Age-Related Maculopathy Grading System.
Main Outcome Measure
Age-related macular degeneration.
Results
Prevalences of AMD were 2.4% (black), 4.2% (Hispanic), 4.6% (Chinese), to 5.4% (white) (P<0.001 for any differences among groups). The highest prevalence of any AMD occurred in those 75 to 84 years old, varying from 7.4% in blacks to 15.8% in whites and Chinese (P = 0.03). Estimated prevalences of late AMD were 0.3% (black), 0.2% (Hispanic), 0.6% (white), and 1.0% (Chinese). These differences were marginally significant (age and gender adjusted, P = 0.08). The frequency of exudative AMD was highest in Chinese (age- and gender-adjusted odds ratio, 4.30; 95% confidence interval, 1.30–14.27) compared with whites. Differences in age, gender, pupil size, body mass index, smoking, alcohol drinking history, diabetes, and hypertension status did not explain the variability among the 4 racial/ethnic groups.
Conclusions
Low prevalences of AMD were found in the MESA cohort in all groups. A lower prevalence of AMD was found in blacks compared with whites. The higher prevalence of exudative AMD in Chinese needs further study.
1Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
2Centre for Eye Research, Australia, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
3Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Research, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
4Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois
5Department of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University, Wake Forest, North Carolina
6Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California
7Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
Correspondence to Ronald Klein, MD, MPH, UW-Madison Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, 4th floor WARF, 610 North Walnut Street, Madison, WI 53726-2336
Manuscript no. 2005-445.
This study was supported by National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland (grant no.: HL69979-03 [RK, TYW]), and Research to Prevent Blindness, New York, New York (Senior Scientific Investigator Award [RK, BEKK]).
The authors do not have any conflicts of interest related to the article.
A full list of participating Multi-ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis investigators and institutions can be found at http://www.mesa-nhlbi.org (under “MESA P&P Policy/Acknowledgements”).
ABSTRACT