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Non-neovascular age-related macular degeneration may still impact patient quality of life

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SAN FRANCISCO — Although patients with dry age-related macular degeneration may have clinically superior vision than patients with wet AMD, the nonexudative form can nonetheless negatively affect the patient's functional vision, according to a speaker here.

In a review of 467 patients with both forms of the disease, Lylas G. Mogk, MD, said that 60% of patients with wet and 40% of patients with dry AMD had vision less than 20/100. However, neovascularization did not necessarily portend worse functional vision.

"The impact on lives does not correlate with the levels of central vision loss, but rather with the presence of central vision loss at any level," Dr. Mogk said during Retina Subspecialty Day before the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting.

A similar percentage of patients with wet and dry AMD reported difficulty in performing specific tasks: reading difficulty (100% vs. 90%), money management (88.3% vs. 83.2%), self care (71.8% vs. 61.1%), meal preparation (77.7% vs. 67.2%) and housekeeping (69.9% vs. 58%).

Patients also scored similarly on the Geriatric Depression Scale: 30% of wet vs. 24% of dry AMD with probable depression and 4% in both groups had definite depression.