Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2026
Ex Vivo OCT-Based Multimodal Imaging of Human Donor Eyes for Research into Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Published on: May 26, 2023
Frailty and age-related macular degeneration: the Beaver Dam Eye Study
Ronald Klein1, Barbara E K Klein, Michael D Knudtson
1Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison, 53726, USA. kleinr@epi.ophth.wisc.edu
Purpose:
To investigate the associations of measures of frailty to prevalent age-related maculopathy (ARM).
Design:
Cross-sectional population-based study.
Methods:
Time to walk a measured course (gait-time), handgrip strength, peak expiratory flow rate, ability to stand from a sitting position without using arms, self-reported co-morbidities, and ARM were assessed at the third examination of the Beaver Dam Eye Study (n = 2,962). ARM was determined by grading stereoscopic color fundus photographs.
Results:
While controlling for age, smoking, and the number of co-morbid conditions, weaker handgrip strength was associated with early ARM (odds ratio [OR]/10 kg decrease 1.28, confidence interval [CI] 1.08, 1.52, P = .004) and late ARM (OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.02, 2.36) in men but not women. Other measures of frailty were not related to ARM.
Conclusions:
A weak cross-sectional association of handgrip strength with ARM (in men) was found after controlling for co-morbid conditions. These data suggest that ARM is due to a specific disease process, albeit age-related, rather than to biologic aging, as reflected by measures of frailty.
