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Clinical science
Prevalence of age-related macular degeneration in the Republic of Ireland
  1. Kwadwo Owusu Akuffo1,
  2. John Nolan1,
  3. Jim Stack1,
  4. Rachel Moran1,
  5. Joanne Feeney2,3,
  6. Rose Anne Kenny2,
  7. Tunde Peto4,
  8. Cara Dooley2,
  9. Aisling M O'Halloran2,
  10. Hilary Cronin2,
  11. Stephen Beatty1
  1. 1Macular Pigment Research Group, Department of Chemical and Life Sciences, Waterford Institute of Technology, Waterford, Ireland
  2. 2The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, Department of Medical Gerontology, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
  3. 3Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, United Kingdom
  4. 4NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Kwadwo Owusu Akuffo, Macular Pigment Research Group, Vision Research Centre, Waterford Institute of Technology, West Campus, Carriganore, Waterford, Ireland; kakuffo{at}wit.ie

Abstract

Background Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) remains the most common cause of visual loss among subjects over 50 years of age in the developed world. The Irish Longitudinal study on Ageing (TILDA) is a population-based study of subjects aged 50 years or older, designed to investigate factors that influence ageing, and has enabled this investigation of the prevalence of AMD in the Republic of Ireland (ROI).

Methods Data collected from a nationally representative sample of community-living older adults aged 50 years and over in ROI over the period November 2009 to July 2011. 5035 participants attended the TILDA health centre for assessment. Retinal photographs were obtained in 4859 of these participants. Retinal grading was performed in a masked fashion using a modified version of the International Classification and Grading System for AMD.

Results Adjusting for lower response rates among older subjects, the estimated overall prevalence of any AMD was 7.2% (95% CI 6.5% to 7.9%) in the population aged 50 years or older. The estimated prevalence of early AMD was 6.6% (95% CI 5.9% to 7.3%), and the estimated prevalence of late AMD was 0.6% (95% CI 0.4% to 0.8%). Statistically significant associations with AMD included increasing age and family history of the condition.

Conclusions This is the first study to provide prevalence estimates of AMD in ROI and will inform eye care professionals and policymakers involved in the delivery and planning of care for those afflicted with this condition.

  • Epidemiology
  • Public health
  • Imaging
  • Macula
  • Vision

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

https://doi.org/10.1136/bjophthalmol-2014-305768

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