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Drusen, hyperpigmentation predictors of AMD development

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SYDNEY, Australia — Eyes with large drusen, soft or reticular drusen or hyperpigmentation are at elevated risk for developing age-related macular degeneration, results of a cohort study show.

Jie Jin Wang, PhD, and others quantified information from the Blue Mountains Eye Study to determine the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD) over a 5-year period.

Of 4,634 eyes at risk, 52 developed neovascular or atrophic AMD lesions over the 5-year period. Eyes that at baseline exam showed drusen of 125 µm or larger, indistinct soft or reticular drusen or hyperpigmentation had a high likelihood of developing AMD over the course of the 5 years.

Eyes in categories 3 and 4 using the Age-Related Eye Disease Study grading system were 5 times more likely to develop AMD than eyes in categories 1 or 2.

The study is published in the May issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.