Statin use might increase the risk of age-related macular degeneration

This study was published in the Archives of Ophthalmology 2006 Jan;124(1):33-7

Study title and authors:
3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme a reductase inhibitors and the presence of age-related macular degeneration in the Cardiovascular Health Study.

McGwin G Jr, Modjarrad K, Hall TA, Xie A, Owsley C.
Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Suite 609, 700 S. 18th Street, Birmingham, AL 35294-0009, USA. mcgwin@uab.edu

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16401782/

The objective of the study was to evaluate both the use of cholesterol-lowering medications as a group and the use of statins specifically with regard to the risk of age-related macular degeneration. The study included 2,755 men and women aged over 65 years.

The study found:
(a) Those taking cholesterol-lowering medications had a 35% increased risk of age-related macular degeneration compared to those not taking cholesterol-lowering medications.
(b) Those taking statins had a 40% increased risk of age-related macular degeneration compared to those not taking statins.

McGwin concluded: "Statin use might increase the risk of age-related macular degeneration".

Stains increase the risk of age-related macular degeneration by 19%

This study was published in Ophthalmology 2009 Dec;116(12):2381-5

Study title and authors:
Statin use and the incidence of advanced age-related macular degeneration in the Complications of Age-related Macular Degeneration Prevention Trial.

Maguire MG, Ying GS, McCannel CA, Liu C, Dai Y
Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-3309, USA. maguirem@mail.med.upenn.edu

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19850347

The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of statin use on the incidence of advanced age-related macular degeneration among patients with large drusen. The study included 744 patients, aged 50 years or more, who were followed for at least five years. Eligibility criteria for the clinical trial required that the participants have more than ten large drusen and visual acuity no better than 20/40 in each eye.

(Drusen are yellow deposits under the retina. While drusen likely do not cause age-related macular degeneration, their presence increases a person’s risk of developing age-related macular degeneration. In the expression, 20/40 vision, the 20 is the distance in feet between the subject and the chart. The 40 means that the subject can read the chart (from 20 feet away) as well as a normal person could read the same chart from 40 feet away).

The study found that patients taking statins had a 19% increased risk of developing advanced age-related macular degeneration compared to patients not taking statins.



Statins may be associated with an increase in the risk of age related macular degeneration

This study was published in Current Drug Safety 2008 Jan;3(1):24-6

 

Study title and authors:

Use of statins and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-Is) and the risk of age-related macular degeneration: nested case-control study.

Etminan M, Brophy JM, Maberley D.

Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation, Vancouver General Hospital, 7 Floor - 828 West 10 Ave., Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. metminan@shaw.ca

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18690977

Age related macular degeneration is a progressive degenerative disease affecting central vision.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors) are drugs that are used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure.

This study sought to explore the association between statins, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and the development of age related macular degeneration. The study included 2,867 patients, aged 65 years or older, with age related macular degeneration who were compared with 11,468 controls who were free from age related macular degeneration.

The study found:
(a) Those using statin drugs had a 30% increased risk of developing age related macular degeneration compared to those not using statins.
(b) Those using angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor drugs had a 19% increased risk of developing age related macular degeneration compared to those not using angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors.

The study concludes: "Based on the results of our study, statin and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor use may be associated with an increase in the risk of age related macular degeneration".