Elsevier

Ophthalmology

Volume 102, Issue 2, February 1995, Pages 205-210
Ophthalmology

The Prevalence of Age-related Maculopathy in the Rotterdam Study

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0161-6420(95)31034-2Get rights and content

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of age-related maculopathy in an elderly population in The Netherlands.

Methods: Fundus photographs of 6251 participants of the Rotterdam Study, a single-center prospective follow-up study in persons 55 to 98 years of age, were reviewed for the presence of drusen, pigmentary abnormalities, and atrophic or neovascular agerelated macular degeneration.

Results: The prevalence of at least one drusen of 63 μm or larger increased from 40.8% in persons 55 to 64 years of age to 52.6% in those 85 years of age or older. Similarly, the prevalence of the following abnormalities increased significantly in these age categories: drusen of 125 μm or larger from 4.8% to 17.5%,retinal pigment epithelial hypopigmentations from 3.5% to 9.0%, and increased retinal pigment from 3.7% to 15.3%.Atrophic or neovascular age-related macular degeneration was present in 1.7% of the total population. Atrophic age-related macular degeneration increased from 0.1 in persons 55 to 64 years of age to 3.7% in those 85 years of age or older. Neovascular age-related macular degeneration increased from 0.1 % to 7.4% in these age groups. No sex differences were observed for these lesions.

Conclusions: The prevalence of atrophic or neovascular age-related macular degeneration is 1.7%. In those 55 years of age or older, the prevalence increases strongly with age and it is similar in men and women. Neovascular age-related macular degeneration was twice as common as atrophic age-related macular degeneration. These findings suggest that age-related maculopathy may be less common in this European population than in similar populations in the United States.

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Presented at the 5th Annual Congress of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, Guernsey, April 1994.

Supported by the Nestor program for geriatric research in The Netherlands (Ministries of Health and of Education), The Hague, Topcon Europe B.V., Rotterdam, Haagsch Oogheelkundig Fonds, The Hague, Merck, Sharp & Dohme—Chibret Nederland, Haarlem, Stichting Bevordering Volkskracht and Stichting Blindenhulp, The Hague, Rotterdamse Vereniging voor Blindenbelangen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Society for the Prevention of Blindness, Utrecht, Stichting voor Ooglijders, Rotterdam, and Stichting Roos, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Each author states that she/he has no proprietary interest in the equipment mentioned in this article.

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