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Sunlight and age-related macular degeneration. The Beaver Dam Eye Study
K J Cruickshanks1, R Klein, B E Klein
1Department of Ophthalmology, University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison 53705-2397.
Objective:
To investigate the relationship of sunlight exposure with age-related maculopathy. This was investigated in the population-based Beaver Dam Eye Study.
Design:
In this cross-sectional population-based study, questionnaire data about sunlight exposure were obtained. Stereoscopic color fundus photographs were graded to determine the presence of age-related maculopathy.
Participants:
People aged 43 through 84 years who resided in Beaver Dam, Wis, between 1987 and 1988 were examined between 1988 and 1990.
Results:
Light exposure was not associated with early age-related maculopathy in women. In men, after adjusting for age, the amount of time spent outdoors in summer was associated with increased retinal pigment (odds ratio [OR], 1.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01 to 2.04). Wearing eyeglasses was inversely associated with increased retinal pigment (OR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.58 to 0.97), and the use of hats and sunglasses was inversely associated with soft indistinct drusen (OR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.38 to 0.98). The amount of leisure time spent outdoors in summer was significantly associated with exudative macular degeneration (OR, 2.26; 95% CI, 1.06 to 4.81) and late maculopathy (OR, 2.19; 95% CI, 1.12 to 4.25). There were no associations between estimated ambient UV-B exposure and age-related maculopathy.
Conclusions:
These data suggest that exposure to sunlight may be associated with age-related maculopathy. However, longitudinal studies of these associations are needed.