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Smoking may increase the risk of developing late AMD, study finds

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Current and past smokers may have a higher risk of developing late age-related macular degeneration than those who have never smoked, according to a study by researchers in Australia.

Jennifer S. L. Tan, MBBS, BE, and colleagues studied 2,454 Australian patients aged 49 years and older to assess the possible link between smoking and the 10-year incidence of AMD. They published their findings in the August issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

The researchers found that current smokers were four times more likely to develop late AMD, and past smokers were three times more likely to have geographic atrophy than those who had never smoked.

Patients with a history of smoking and who also had a lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level, a higher ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol or lower fish consumption may additionally have an even higher risk of developing late AMD, the authors noted.

"However, interactions between smoking and HDL cholesterol level, ratio of total to HDL cholesterol and fish consumption were not statistically significant," the authors reported.