Publication year
2016Source
Retina-The Journal of Retinal and Vitreous Diseases, 36, (2016), pp. 787-790ISSN
Publication type
Article / Letter to editor

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Organization
Ophthalmology
Human Genetics
Journal title
Retina-The Journal of Retinal and Vitreous Diseases
Volume
vol. 36
Page start
p. 787
Page end
p. 790
Subject
Radboudumc 12: Sensory disorders DCMN: Donders Center for Medical Neuroscience; Radboudumc 12: Sensory disorders RIHS: Radboud Institute for Health SciencesAbstract
PURPOSE: To evaluate effects of current and past sunlight exposure and iris color on early and late age-related macular degeneration (AMD). METHODS: Of 3,701 individuals from the EUGENDA database, 752 (20.3%) showed early AMD, 1,179 (31.9%) late AMD, and 1,770 (47.8%) were controls. Information about current and past sunlight exposure, former occupation type, subdivided in indoor working and outdoor working, and iris color were obtained by standardized interviewer-assisted questionnaires. Associations between environmental factors adjusted for age, gender, and smoking and early and late AMD were performed by multivariate regression analysis. RESULTS: Current sunlight exposure showed no association with early AMD or late AMD, but past sunlight exposure (>/=8 hours outside daily) was significantly associated with early AMD (odds ratio: 5.54, 95% confidence interval 1.25-24.58, P = 0.02) and late AMD (odds ratio: 2.77, 95% confidence interval 1.25-6.16, P = 0.01). Outside working was found to be associated with late AMD (odds ratio: 2.57, 95% confidence interval 1.89-3.48, P = 1.58 x 10). No association was observed between iris color and early or late AMD. CONCLUSION: Sunlight exposure during working life is an important risk factor for AMD, whereas sunlight exposure after retirement seems to have less influence on the disease development. Therefore, preventive measures, for example, wearing sunglasses to minimize sunlight exposure, should start early to prevent development of AMD later in life.
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- Faculty of Medical Sciences [80531]
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