PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Miao Zhou
AU  - Pei-Chen Duan
AU  - Jing-Hong Liang
AU  - Xiao-Feng Zhang
AU  - Chen-Wei Pan
TI  - Geographic distributions of age-related macular degeneration incidence: a systematic review and meta-analysis
AID  - 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2020-316820
DP  - 2021 Oct 01
TA  - British Journal of Ophthalmology
PG  - 1427--1434
VI  - 105
IP  - 10
4099  - http://bjo.bmj.com/content/105/10/1427.short
4100  - http://bjo.bmj.com/content/105/10/1427.full
SO  - Br J Ophthalmol2021 Oct 01; 105
AB  - Purpose We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to summarise the geographic distribution of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) incidence.Methods Databases including PubMed, Embase and Web of Science were searched for publications of early and late AMD before September 2019. Studies were included if they applied a standardised photographic assessment and classification system. The proportion of participants with AMD in each eligible study was combined to obtain a pooled incidence from all studies using a random effects model. We also assessed sources of potential heterogeneity in the incidence of AMD using meta-regression analyses for both late and early AMD.Results Twenty-four population-based studies (70 123 individuals aged 55 years or older) were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled global annual incidences of early and late AMD were 1.59% (95% CI 1.12% to 2.10%) and 0.19% (95% CI: 0.13% to 0.28%), respectively. Individuals of European descent had the highest annual incidence of both early (2.73%, 95% CI 1.63% to 4.57%) and late (0.36%, 95% CI 0.17% to 0.75%) AMD than other ethnic groups. Average age (p=0.001) at baseline, ethnicity (p=0.001), region (p=0.043) and gender (p=0.011) were predictors for incident late AMD, while only average age (p=0.01) at baseline and ethnicity (p=0.025) was associated with incidence of early AMD.Conclusions This meta-analysis offers an up-to-date overview of AMD globally, which may provide scientific guidance for the design and implementation of public health strategies such as screening programmes for AMD in both specific geographic locations and ethnic groups, as well as worldwide.