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Cognitive impairment may be worse in patients with geographic atrophy
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There may be an increased risk for cognitive impairment in patients with age-related macular degeneration, particularly those with geographic atrophy, a study found.
The case-control study in Korea included 170 patients with AMD who were categorized as having early AMD, exudative AMD or geographic atrophy and 190 controls who did not have AMD. All subjects underwent 15 psychological tests, including a depression evaluation. The degree of cognitive impairment was the primary outcome measure.
Control subjects scored higher in global cognition than patients with AMD (P < .001). Subjects with geographic atrophy scored the lowest.
After adjusting for age, gender, education and visual acuity, cognitive function scores demonstrated a worsening trend. Controls scored the highest, followed by patients with early AMD, exudative AMD and geographic atrophy.
Patients with AMD were more likely to have mild cognitive impairment than controls (52.4% vs. 26.8%, P < .001). The highest risk of mild cognitive impairment was in the geographic atrophy patients.
“These findings suggest that the pathogenesis of geographic atrophy or AMD might be related to that of senile neurodegenerative disorders such as [Alzheimer’s disease],” the study authors said. “The risk of cognitive impairment in AMD patients should also be considered during vision rehabilitation of AMD patients.”
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