AMD, Kidney Disease Share Risk FactorsAMD, Kidney Disease Share Risk Factors

BOSTONAdults with decreased kidney function appear to be at increased risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (Nephrol Dial Transplant. ePub 21 Feb 2011. DOI: 10.1093/ndt/gfr022). Researchers from Tufts Medical Center and Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, sought to determine whether markers of kidney disease identify a population at higher risk for prevalent AMD.

Using data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), the team performed a cross-sectional nested case-control study, using predictor variables including urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Study outcomes included late AMD and a composite of both early AMD and late AMD.

A total of 51 subjects had late AMD, and 865 had any AMD. After adjusting for diabetes, hypertension and total cholesterol, lower eGFR was independently associated with late AMD. Albuminuria was not significant in late AMD or any AMD; however, albuminuria was associated with AMD in analyses excluding diabetics. The team concluded late AMD is more common in people with reduced kidney function, although they were uncertain whether this is related to a shared causal pathway or shared risk factors.