A study of the relation between body mass index and the incidence of age related macular degeneration.

BACKGROUND Age related macular degeneration (ARMD) is the most frequent cause of blindness among the elderly. Obesity may be one of the risk factors of ARMD as suggested, yet not proved, by several studies. This study assesses the relation between body mass index (BMI) and the incidence of ARMD METHODS: This case-control study included 50 patients with ARMD and 80 subjects who were adjusted for age, sex, cigarette smoking, blood pressure, and diabetes. Data analysis was performed by SPSS V9.0 using Student's t and chi2 tests. RESULTS 42% of the subjects in the case group and 35% of those in the control group were men. Mean age of subjects in the case and control groups was 69.9 years (62-77 years) and 64.08 years (56-71 years), respectively. Mean BMI measured 25.38 (range 21-29) and 30.24 (26-34) in the case and control groups, respectively (p>0.05). 12% of subjects in the case group were obese, 42% were overweight, and 14% were lean. 22.5% of subjects in the control group were obese, 45% were overweight, and 7.5% were lean (p>0.05). CONCLUSION 43% of patients in this study were aged 70 years or older, which is similar to other studies. There was no significant difference in BMI between the case and control groups. Recent studies indicate that obesity is a probable risk factor for progression of ARMD, but there is no significant relation with the presence of ARMD. With multifactorial analysis, the authors could identify no significant relation between the presence of ARMD and the studied risk factors.