Smoking Linked to Macular Degeneration


People who stop smoking could dramatically reduce their risk of developing age related macular degeneration, according to new research. A study published in the journal Archives of Ophthalmology shows that people who don't smoke or had stopped smoking were less likely to have drusen deposits in their retinas - an indicator of early onset age-related macular degeneration. Researchers hope that their findings will encourage more people to give up smoking in order to safeguard their vision from the increasingly common eye disease.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin studied the drusen levels present in the retina of 2810 people aged between 21 and 84. The research team found that individuals who smoked were more likely to have heightened concentration of the chemical present in their eyes.

However, the researchers found that people with good cholesterol levels were less likely to exhibit indicators of the progressive eye disease.

Researchers believe that their findings show that age related macular degeneration may begin to develop in adults earlier than previously known. It is hoped that the new findings will encourage at-risk individuals to make changes to their lifestyle that will help to better protect their vision from the progressively blinding eye disease.

20th June 2010

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