According to a new study, it is not a good idea for older people to continue to smoke, as smoking is the second most common risk factor for developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
AMD is a disease that progressively damages the macula i. e. the centre of the retina that makes it possible for us see fine details. Degeneration of the macula prevents people from being able to read, recognise faces or drive, due to experiencing darkness or blurring of their central vision.
What this means is that it is never too late to quit smoking, as even the eyes of the elderly benefit from kicking the habit.
The new study trying to determine whether age influences the effects of smoking on the risk of developing AMD, followed a group of 1,958-women of whom 75 smoked. These women 78-years of age at the start of the baseline exam underwent retinal photographs at five year intervals.
Their retinal images were compared at ages 78 and 83 to see whether AMD had made an appearance, including evaluating whether smoking played a role in their likelihood of developing the disease.
Researchers found that the women who smoked had 11% higher rates of AMD overall, than other women of the same age. As well, they found that 80-plus women who smoked were 5.5-times more likely than the same age women who did not smoke to develop AMD.
The bottom line is that aging increases the risk of AMD, but smoking raises the risk even more.
The study’s findings have been published in the January edition of the American Journal of Ophthalmology.
For more information go to www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
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