Risk factors for age-related maculopathy in a 14-year followup study: the Copenhagen City Eye Study

Purpose: To examine the association between potential risk factors and the 14-year incidence of age-related maculopathy (ARM). Design: Population-based cohort study. Participants: At baseline, 946 volunteers participated in the study during 1986-88. These subjects were between 60 and 80 years of age and lived in the Osterbro district of Copenhagen. Excluding participants who had died since baseline, 359 subjects (97.3% of survivors) were re-examined 14 years later, during 2000-2002. A total of 31.8% (301/946) of the original material was included in the risk factor analyses. Methods: Participants underwent an ophthalmological examination at Rigshospitalet, the National University Hospital of Copenhagen. Similar standardized protocols for physical examination were used at the baseline and follow-up examinations. Age-related maculopathy lesions were determined by the same grader grading colour fundus photographs from both examinations using a modification of the Wisconsin Age-related Maculopathy Grading System protocol. Results: Of the 359 participants, 94 had incident early ARM and 52 had incident late ARM at follow-up in either eye. In logistic regression, the risk factors for early ARM or worse were as follows: cataract (odds ratio [OR] 2.8 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2-6.2); family history of ARM (OR 4.5, 95% Cl 1.3-15.5), and alcohol consumption > 250 g/week (OR 4.6, 95% CI 1.1-19.2). High levels of apolipoprotein B ( > 100 mg/l) decreased the risk of development of early ARM or worse (OR 0.4, 95% Cl 0.2-0.8), while high levels of apolipoprotein A1 (>= 150 mg/l) increased the risk of late ARM (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.2-5.3). Advanced age at baseline was also associated with the incidence of late ARM (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.4-2.9). Conclusions: These findings indicate a direct correlation between age, cataract, family history, alcohol consumption, the apolipoproteins A1 and B and the 14-year incidence of ARM.