What Are the Causes & Risk Factors for Macular Degeneration?

Macular degeneration is a disease that damages the macula, or central seeing cells, in the back of the eye. It results in painless visual loss that can become severe as the disease progresses. The incidence of macular degeneration increases with age, and the disease is thought to result from a buildup of oxidative damage from concentrated light exposure to the back of the eye over the course of a person's lifetime. This damage results in small areas of buildup of damaged material, known as drusen. Factors that increase a person's risk of developing macular degeneration include age, sex, genetics and family history of the disease, eye color, smoking, obesity and high-fat diet and sun exposure.

Age

• The older one gets, the higher the risk of developing macular degeneration. For this reason, the disease is often called age-related macular degeneration, or AMD. In the United States, the risk goes from approximately 4 percent of the population age 50-59 to about 14 percent of those in their 70s.

Sex

• Females are at higher risk than males from developing macular degeneration.

Genetics and Family History

• Those with a family history of macular degeneration are at increased risk of developing the disease. Additionally, a number of individual gene mutations have been identified as carrying an increased disease risk. Race plays a factor, with whites carrying a much higher risk of the disease than blacks. Whites of Northern European ancestry carry an even higher risk than the Caucasian population in general.

Eye Color

• Those with lighter colored eyes are at higher risk for macular degeneration than those with darker irises. The increased risk for those with lighter eye color is thought to stem from an increased ability of more pigmented eyes to absorb light, resulting in less damage from light rays.

Smoking

• Several studies have shown a link between smoking and increased incidence of macular degeneration.

Obesity and High-Fat Diet

• Additional studies have linked increased risk of macular degeneration to diets high in fats, as well as to obesity in general.

Sun Exposure

• As macular degeneration results from a buildup of damage from light concentrating on the seeing cells in the back of the eye, it makes sense that those who have spent more of their lives being exposed to a great deal of light are at higher risk for macular degeneration. The risk can be lessened by using sunglasses to cut down on visible light and UV exposure to the back of the eye