Socioeconomic Factors Increase Risk for Age-Related Macular Degeneration

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 25, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Socioeconomic factors are linked to an increased risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a study published online July 1 in Health Data Science.

Yanlin Qu, from the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, and colleagues investigated whether low socioeconomic status (SES) increases the risk for AMD and explored the effect of a healthy lifestyle on this association. The analysis included data from 316,663 participants in the U.K. Biobank.

The researchers found that during an average 12.2 years of follow-up, 6,355 AMD cases were diagnosed. There was an increased risk for incident AMD among participants with medium SES (hazard ratio, 1.10) and low SES (hazard ratio, 1.22) compared with participants with high SES. This association was significantly affected by physical activity. Smoking also significantly mediated the association between low SES and AMD (11.3 percent). Alcohol consumption suppressed (9.59 percent) the association between high SES and AMD. A significant joint effect of SES and healthy lifestyle score was found.

“Our study identified a significant association between SES inequality and the incidence of AMD. Notably, the relationship was influenced by lifestyle behaviors,” lead author Huixun Jia, from Shanghai General Hospital, said in a statement. “Our findings underscore the universal benefits of positive lifestyle adjustments. Encouraging physical activity and smoking cessation among individuals with low SES, and reducing alcohol consumption among high SES groups, could mitigate their susceptibility to AMD.”

Abstract/Full Text