Obesity linked to increased risk of AMD progression

Overall and abdominal obesity increase the risk for progression of age-related macular degeneration, while exercise tends to decrease the risk, researchers with the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary found.

Johanna Seddon, MD, ScM, and colleagues studied 261 participants who were at least 60 years of age and had some sign of nonadvanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and visual acuity of 20/200 or better in at least one eye. Average follow-up was 4.6 years.

The researchers found that patients with a higher body mass index (BMI) had increased risk for AMD progression. Patients whose BMI was between 25 and 29 (considered overweight) or greater than 30 (considered obese) were more than twice as likely to experience worsening of AMD as patients with a BMI of less than 25. People with the largest waists had a twofold increased risk for progression over those with the smallest.

“In our study population, 38% of the men and 57% of the women had abdominal obesity and 22% of men and 26% of women had overall obesity. A decade ago, we had little advice for patients with AMD, and now we have an extensive body of evidence regarding modifiable factors to disseminate,” the authors reported in the June issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

Additionally, more physical activity tended to be associated with a reduced rate of AMD progression, with a 25% reduction in progression rate for patients who underwent vigorous activity three times a week.