Age-Related Macular Degeneration
What Increases Your Risk
The major risk factors for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) include:
- Older age. Age is the biggest risk factor for developing AMD. About 2% of people who are older than 50 have AMD. After age 75, up to 46% of people may have some form of it.2
- A family history of the disease. You are much more likely to get AMD if a close relative has it.
- Race. Whites appear to have a higher risk than blacks or Hispanics.
- Smoking. People who smoke are about twice as likely to develop AMD than non-smokers. The risk appears to be higher for people who have been heavy smokers or who have smoked for a long time.2
- One eye with wet AMD. Nearly half of people with wet AMD in one eye get wet AMD in the other eye within 5 years.1
Other risk factors for developing AMD may include:2
- Deposits at the back of the eye called drusen. Eyes with large, soft drusen deposits are at a greater risk for developing abnormal blood vessels and wet AMD.
- A diet high in saturated fat and cholesterol.
- Low dietary intake of carotenoids, antioxidant vitamins, and zinc.
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| Author: | Alison Allen Robin Parks, MS | Last Updated: October 8, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine Carol L. Karp, MD - Ophthalmology Donald Sproule, MD, CM, CCFP, FCFP - Family Medicine | |
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