Data from 3,087 persons age 45 or older in the National Health and Nutrition Survey, 1971-74, showed that subjects with lens opacifying disease had an increased odds for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) compared to those who had no lens opacities. The crude odds ratio for aphakic patients was 4.6 (95% CI = 2.5, 8.6). The association remained after controlling for age, sex, and systolic blood pressure (a common risk factor) in a logistic regression model. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that light-induced damage may contribute to both lens and retinal disease and suggest that cataract extraction without implantation of ultra-violet/blue light absorbing intraocular lens may place subjects at increased risk of AMD.