How Common is Macular Degeneration?

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How common is macular degeneration? Macular degeneration is the most common reason for visual loss in Americans over 50. The number of Americans who have age-related macular degeneration is around 11 million. 

Age is the main risk factor for AMD, thus it is anticipated that as the number of elderly Americans grows, so will the prevalence of AMD. However, rates might also go down. 

According to one study, AMD rates have fallen dramatically among Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) compared to those born between 1901 and 1924 and 1925 to 1945. 

The study was unable to identify any specific changes in risk factors that would account for this drop. 

Macular Degeneration Associated with Race 

Macular degeneration is more frequently identified in older Caucasians than in other racial or ethnic groupings. 

A significant research study of a U.S. managed care medical plan revealed that Black people had a lower risk of AMD than White people. At age 60, Asian Americans had a greater risk than Whites, but by age 80, there was no difference in risk. 

According to the study, Latin persons had a different risk for dry or wet AMD than White people at different ages, with a similar or lower risk for dry AMD at 60 and 80 and a higher risk for wet AMD at 60. 

Age and gender are the two largest risk factors for macular degeneration, and rates rise with the advancing years. The following five-year incidence rates, which indicate the likelihood of having the ailment in five years, were discovered in a Wisconsin study of a large sample of subjects: 

Age group incidence over five years 

  • 22 to 39  0.3% 
  • 40 to 49 1.0%
  • 50 to 59 2.8%
  • 60 to 69 7.5%
  • 70 to 79 15.4%
  • 80 to 86 19.5% 
  • Overall 4.2% 

AMD development may be influenced by your gender. AMD affects women more commonly than it does males. 

In the US, 65 out of 100 women have macular degeneration, compared to 35 out of 100 males. Given that macular degeneration is an age-associated illness and that women typically live longer than males, this is thought to be connected. Age is the main risk factor for getting AMD in women.

Macular Degeneration Facts 

The severity of macular degeneration varies. 

For Americans aged 60 and older, macular degeneration is the main cause of visual loss. 

One of the main causes of permanent blindness and visual impairment worldwide is advanced age-related macular degeneration. 

Age-related macular degeneration causes the macula to irreversibly deteriorate, which impairs the ability to see well in the “straight ahead” direction needed for tasks like reading, driving, identifying people, and experiencing color. 

Macular degeneration is Prevalent and Growing 

The number of Americans who suffer from age-related macular degeneration is close to 20 million. According to a recent study, the number of AMD cases has increased by about twice as much as previously thought. 

By 2040, there will be 288 million people living with macular degeneration globally. 

Age-related macular degeneration has age as a major risk factor. Between the ages of 50 and 59, the chance of developing progressive age-related macular degeneration rises from 2% to about 30%. 

How common is dry macular degeneration?

Macular degeneration occurs in a dry and wet form.  

90% of confirmed cases of macular degeneration are of the dry kind, in which the macula’s light-sensitive cells gradually deteriorate. 

90% of legal blindness is caused by wet macular degeneration, which affects 10% of cases. It is regarded as advanced macular degeneration (there isn’t an early or intermediate stage of wet AMD). The dry phase of the disease always comes before wet macular degeneration.

It is conceivable for early-stage dry age-related macular degeneration to abruptly transform into the wet form of the illness, but it is also possible for dry macular degeneration to progress and result in visual loss without doing so.

An eye care specialist can help you identify the type(s) of macular degeneration you have and provide a diagnosis. 

An eye care specialist will do a dilated eye examination, fundoscopy, a visual acuity test, and fundus photography to aid in the diagnosis of macular degeneration. Fluorescein angiography, in which dye is used to detect leaky blood vessels, may be performed if wet age-related macular degeneration is suspected. An Amsler grid may also be shown to the patient.

Causes and Risk Factors for Macular Degeneration 

The root cause of macular degeneration is still a mystery at this time. However, this illness has been related to a number of risk factors that might indicate if you belong to a group where AMD development is more likely to occur. 

The following are some risk considerations to consider in this situation: 

  • Macular degeneration runs in your family
  • You smoke
  • You’re over 50
  • Hypertension (chronic high blood pressure) 
  • You take blood pressure meds
  • You’re female 
  • You’re Caucasian 
  • You’re overweight

Living a healthy lifestyle may lower the likelihood of getting macular degeneration. 

It is advised to make the following lifestyle adjustments: 

  • Avoid smoking 
  • Regular exercise 
  • Maintain normal blood pressure and keep other medical issues under control. 
  • Keep a healthy weight. 
  • Eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and seafood, and limit meals that spike blood sugar quickly. 
  • Utilize caps and sunglasses to shield eyes from excessive sun exposure.
  • Take a good multivitamin with AREDS specific nutrients.

Treatment for Age-Related Macular Degeneration 

Treatment for Age-Related Macular Degeneration 

Your doctor will choose a specific course of therapy for age-related macular degeneration depending on 

  • Age, general health, and medical background 
  • Size and kind of the disease 
  • Your ability to tolerate a certain medicine, surgery, or low-vision therapy 
  • Expectations about how the disease will progress 
  • Your preference or opinion 

AREDS vitamins for Dry AMD

Ocular Formula

A cure or effective treatment for advanced dry macular degeneration is still unavailable. However, an antioxidant vitamin and zinc high-dose mix called the AREDS Formulation may postpone or stop intermediate macular degeneration from advancing to the advanced stage.

 

Anti-VEGF injections for Wet AMD

Anti-VEGF medicines are the primary therapy for wet AMD, which is administered by injection. A vascular endothelial growth factor is referred to as VEGF. The development of irregular blood vessels that contribute significantly to the damage in wet AMD is correlated with a high amount of VEGF in the eye. In order to stop the disease process and lessen the negative effects of these leaky irregular blood vessels, anti-VEGF medicines are utilized. In many patients, they can also successfully stabilize the condition. 

Anti-VEGF injections can sometimes even result in an increase in visual acuity in some patients. Direct injection of anti-VEGF drugs into the afflicted eye is how they are delivered. Although this may seem intimidating, patients are often fairly comfortable since the treatment is done with a very little needle and under the influence of numbing (anesthetic) eyedrops. Your retinal doctor will discuss the optimum treatment plan for you. Anti-VEGF treatment is often delivered over time and requires frequent injections to maintain the therapeutic effect. Depending on the situation, certain people may also benefit from other therapies like laser therapy. 

Licensed pharmaceuticals include:

  • Beovu® (brolucizumab) 
  • (Aflibercept) EyleaTM
  • Lucentis® (ranibizumab) 
  •  Macugen® (pegaptanib) 
  • (ranibizumab injection for intravitreal use via an ocular implant) susvimoTM
  • * VBYSMO (faricimab-svoa) 

Photodynamic Therapy

For patients with wet macular degeneration, photodynamic therapy is a treatment that can help regulate the aberrant blood vessel development and bleeding in the macula. 

Low Vision

Low vision aids and vision rehabilitation: Help persons who are visually impaired live better lives. Programs for vision rehabilitation and low-vision equipment can help people improve their visual abilities, find new methods to carry out everyday tasks and get adjusted to living with age-related macular degeneration.

How common is myopic macular degeneration?

The frequency of MMD varies between 0.9% and 3.1% worldwide, while the visual impairment brought on by MMD varies between 0.1% and 1.4%. The prevalence of CNV among MMD patients ranges from 5.2% to 11.3% and affects both eyes in 15% of cases. MMD can afflict anyone at any age, however, it most frequently affects people between the ages of 30 and 40. In those under the age of 50, it’s frequently linked to CNV. 

What are the MMD risk factors? 

It is believed that a complex combination of genetic and environmental variables contributes to the development of MMD. Myopia in general is more prevalent in some ethnic groups than others, and high-grade myopia frequently includes a hereditary component. Myopia is more common among white people than among African Americans, Chinese, and Japanese people, with rates of between 50 and 70 percent. 

Similar to other forms of macular degeneration, MMD symptoms might include: 

  • Vision distortion (lines look wavy) 
  • Wet MMD, like wet AMD, can cause a fast loss of central vision while dry MMD causes a gradual deterioration of central vision. 
  • Vision with blank patches, especially in the center 
  • Issues distinguishing between colors 
  • Adjusting your eyes in dim or bright light environments and vice versa might be difficult 

Pathophysiology of MMD 

At the back of the eye, close to the optic nerve, lies a layer of nerve tissue known as the retina. It transforms light into information, then transmits those signals to the brain, which decodes them and conveys what we see. The inner ocular tissues, including the retina and choroid, are stretched and thinned in MMD as a result of the eyeball’s outer wall continuing to expand in an extended manner. These stretched inner ocular tissues may atrophy and break (lacquer crack) over time, resulting in degeneration and vision loss. When irregular blood vessels under the retina expand into these fissures, CNV occurs. As a result, vision is further compromised by fluid leaks or bleeding. 

MMD diagnosis 

diagnosis - How Common is Macular Degeneration

You should undergo routine eye exams to monitor for the growth of irregular blood vessels in the eye as well as any related changes if this condition is suspected or if you already have MMD. This may be carried out as part of any routine eye examination, however occasionally a retinal expert will take additional pictures that entail injecting a dye into the arm to better highlight aberrant blood vessels. The sooner CNV is discovered, the sooner it can be treated properly as it can be a very dangerous complication of MMD. 

MMD treatment 

While there is no cure for dry MMD, it is frequently treated like wet AMD if there is choroidal neovascularization, or “wet” MMD. Anti-VEGF eye injections are frequently used for this. Though every individual is unique, if you are told you have MMD, talk to your eye specialist about the type of MMD you have and your treatment choices.

If you are at risk for AMD, what can you do?

You may help yourself discover the condition early when treatments can be most successful, by telling your eye doctor about your family history and undergoing frequent eye exams. A crucial step in preventing AMD is to stop smoking or never start. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and reducing cholesterol will reduce your chance of developing AMD and help stop the dry type of the illness from developing into the wet form, which can result in irreversible vision loss. 

The Age-Related Illness Studies discovered that consuming specific vitamins and minerals on a daily basis may prevent the disease from progressing from its early or middle stages to its later phases. Combinations of the following vitamins, specifically, can cut the incidence of late AMD by 25%: 

  • Vitamins C and E 
  • Zinc
  • Beta-carotene (as long as you don’t smoke, taking this as a smoker increases your risk of lung cancer)
  • Copper
  • Many of these vitamins are abundant in green, leafy foods. 

Your eye doctor may employ additional treatments, such as injections and laser therapy if AMD advances to later stages. 

If you already have vision loss, there are tools and services for vision rehabilitation or low vision services to help you make the best use of your remaining eyesight. Ask your eye doctor about low vision options in your region and discuss modern technology like magnifiers and telescopic lenses. 

Any time is an excellent time to take action to lower your risk of developing eye conditions like AMD. To assist avoid irreversible vision loss, emphasize to your friends and family the value of living a healthy lifestyle and scheduling regular eye checkups. Mary has a good idea: don’t wait! Do something immediately!

FAQs

Does macular degeneration affect everyone as they age? 

Although senior age does not always result in AMD, normal aging processes might induce structural and blood flow abnormalities that can predispose individuals to AMD. 

How many individuals suffer from macular degeneration? 

Age-related increases in AMD prevalence were observed, rising from 2%  in the 40–44 age group to 46.6%  in the 85+ age group. 

What is the average age when macular degeneration starts? 

Before the age of 55, the disease is uncommon. Most adults 75 years of age or older experience it. Risk factors for AMD include AMD in the family history.

About the Author:
Dr Shaun Larsen

Dr Shaun Larsen

Dr. Shaun Larsen is an optometrist who specializes in low vision services and enhancing vision with contact lenses. He has a passion for making people's lives better by helping them see well enough to read, write, or drive again. He always keeps up with the latest technology so he can help people regain their independence.

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