A suggested association between hypothyroidism and age-related macular degeneration

To explore the relationship between age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and hypothyroidism in a population-based sample of adults 50 years and older in the United States.

Participants aged 50 years and older (N = 9,677). Of this total, 356 participants reported having AMD and 9321 reported not having AMD.

Information pertaining to self-reported thyroid disease (specifically hypothyroidism) and AMD was obtained from the 2008 National Health Interview Survey. The association between self-reported data on hypothyroidism and AMD was estimated using logistic regression adjusting for the potentially confounding influence of demographic, behavioral, and health-related characteristics.

Of the 356 people with AMD, 20.9% reported hypothyroidism compared to 11.2% of those 9,321 without AMD (odds ratio [OR] 2.33; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.69-3.21). After adjusting for the confounding influence of age, sex, smoking, and race, the association between AMD and hypothyroidism remained significant (OR 1.59; 95% CI 1.10-2.30).

The results of this study add to the small body of literature indicating a possible relationship between AMD and hypothyroidism. As many of the risk factors for AMD are also risk factors for hypothyroidism, future studies are warranted to ascertain the relationship between the two diseases.