No Increase Seen in Neovascular AMD Risk After Cataract Surgery

TUESDAY, Feb. 10, 2026 (HealthDay News) — The risk for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) seems not to be increased following cataract surgery, according to a research letter published online Feb. 5 in JAMA Ophthalmology.

Victor Bellanda, M.D., from the Cole Eye Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study using 2006 to 2025 data to examine the risk for nAMD following cataract surgery. The risk for nAMD diagnosis was compared for two cohorts of adults aged 60 years or older without pseudophakia: patients who underwent cataract extraction with intraocular lens implantation and controls with no record of cataract surgery. A total of 132,122 patients with cataract surgery and 407,579 controls were identified; 122,384 individuals remained in each cohort after propensity score matching. A total of 14,340 surgical patients and 30,242 controls were included in the nonneovascular AMD subgroup; after propensity score matching, 14,049 were included in each group.

The researchers found that at all time points, the risk for nAMD was nonsignificant (0.11 and 0.11 percent in patients and controls, respectively, at one month [risk ratio, 1.05]; 0.90 and 0.79 percent, respectively, at 24 months [risk ratio, 1.14]); the 95 percent confidence intervals for the risk ratios remained within the predefined nonsignificance range. Decreased conversion risk was seen at three months in the nonneovascular AMD group (risk ratio, 0.71); at subsequent time points, this decline did not persist.

“While some ophthalmologists may hesitate to recommend surgery to patients with advanced AMD due to concerns about disease progression but limited visual gains, we found those concerns may be unwarranted,” the authors write. “Further, even retrospective studies might inform clinicians” advice to patients.”

One author disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

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