gms | German Medical Science

VI. International Symposium on AMD – Age-Related Macular Degeneration – Emerging Concepts – Exploring known and Identifying new Pathways

11. - 12.09.2015, Baden-Baden

Elevated plasma HDL-cholesterol is associated with incident early AMD and progression to geographic atrophy and not to exudative AMD

Meeting Abstract

  • Fridbert Jonasson - Reykjavik
  • D. Fisher - Bethesda
  • G. Eiriksdottir - Kopavogur
  • S. Sigurdsson - Kopavogur
  • R. Klein - Madison
  • L. Loner - Bethesda
  • T. Harris - Bethesda
  • V. Gudnason - Reykjavik
  • M.-F. Cotch - Bethesda

VI. International Symposium on AMD – Age-Related Macular Degeneration – Emerging Concepts – Exploring known and Identifying new Pathways. Baden-Baden, 11.-12.09.2015. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2015. Doc15amd09

doi: 10.3205/15amd09, urn:nbn:de:0183-15amd096

Published: October 1, 2015

© 2015 Jonasson et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. See license information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.


Outline

Text

Background: The Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility Reykjavik Study includes a random population sample including persons 67 years and older at baseline, mean age 76 years. This is an older cohort than in most studies and therefore higher numbers of persons with late AMD (n=277), both exudative AMD and in particular Geographic Atrophy (GA). There were 4.910 persons at baseline with readable macular photographs and information on other variables included.

Methods: We used digital macular photographs at baseline and 5-year follow up as well as a questionnaire and an extensive clinical battery. AMD phenotypes were classified as early AMD, exudative AMD, and GA classified both as any GA and as pure GA when there was no evidence of exudative AMD in either eye at any timepoint. Incident AMD and progression to late AMD was calculated for each potential risk factor. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine covariates in the models.

Results: The 5-year follow up included 2868 participants with both readable macular photographs and information on other potential risk factors. Elevated plasma HDL-cholesterol was associated with risk of incident AMD (OR 1.62; 1.19-2.22: <0.01). Age, smoking and higher BMI were also associated with incident AMD. Plasma HDL-cholesterol was associated with progression to pure Geographic Atrophy (OR 2.03; 1.02-4.05: p=0.04) and not for exudative AMD (OR 0.67; 0.32-1.40: p=0.28). Statin use was not associated with AMD.

Conclusion: Elevated plasma HDL-cholesterol was independently associated with early AMD and GA. Some studies have found such an association with early AMD and not with the late phenotypes. Late phenotypes, in particular Geographic Atrophy are few in most studies. Statistical analysis commonly combine the late AMD phenotypes, confounding results as shown in the present study.