Evaluation of systemic factors in age-related macular degeneration at a tertiary care hospital in Uttarakhand, India
Background:
Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is a degenerative disease associated with aging, with a higher prevalence in regions such as Africa (17.4%). Reported prevalence in various Indian studies ranges from 1.1% in southern India to 4.7% in northern India. Smoking, diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HTN), and body mass index (BMI) are the factors that have been correlated with ARMD.
Aim and Objective:
This study aims to evaluate the association of systemic factors such as smoking, DM, HTN, and BMI with ARMD.
Materials and Methods:
It is a hospital-based cross-sectional study with patients aged over 40 years visiting the outpatient ophthalmology department who were screened for ARMD for a duration of 6 months from January 2024 to June 2024. All patients aged over 40 years were screened for ARMD. Patients with ocular trauma, congenital ocular anomalies, immunocompromised status, or active ocular inflammation were excluded from the study. The presence of even a single “Drusen” in the macula was considered the diagnostic criterion for ARMD. Diagnosed cases of ARMD were assessed for DM, HTN, BMI, and smoking. The data were recorded and analyzed to identify any associations.
Results:
The prevalence of ARMD among patients screened over 1 year was found to be 1.40%. Among 40 patients with ARMD, 24 (60%) patients reported a positive history of smoking, which was statistically significant with a
Conclusion:
Our study from Uttarakhand indicates a low prevalence of ARMD and shows a positive and significant association with smoking. Furthermore, evaluation of other systemic factors is required to provide more consistent evidence of correlation.
