Adapted from the Division of Preventative Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Debra A. Schaumberg, ScD, OD, MPH, of the Division of Preventative Medicine at BWH, and colleagues from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health found genetic predisposition and exposure to modifiable risk factors such as obesity and smoking can multiply the risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in adults. These findings appear in the January 2007 issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.
AMD is a disease associated with aging that gradually destroys sharp, central vision and is the most common cause of blindness in the United States. Past research found common variation in genes for complement factor H (CFH) and LOC387715 increase a person’s risk for developing AMD.
Schaumberg and colleagues reported people with two variations in the CFH gene were 9 times more likely to develop AMD if they smoked and 12 times more likely to develop the disease if they were obese, compared to individuals not exposed to the genetic variant or modifiable risk factor. Strikingly, carriers of two variations in the LOC387715 gene who smoked were 22 times more likely to develop AMD.
Researchers stress the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle especially for individuals who are genetically predisposed to AMD, as there are limited treatment options and no cure.