This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on ISI (62)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Macular Degeneration  • Alert me on articles by topic

Ronald Klein, MD, MPH; Limin Clegg, PhD; Lawton S. Cooper, MD, MPH; Larry D. Hubbard, MAT; Barbara E. K. Klein, MD, MPH; William N. King, MS; Aaron R. Folsom, MD; for the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study Investigators

Arch Ophthalmol. 1999;117:1203-1210.

Objective  To describe the prevalence of age-related maculopathy (ARM) in blacks and whites and its relation to macrovascular disease and risk factors thereof in a population studied for cardiovascular disease risk factors and outcomes.

Population  A biracial population of 11,532 adults (ranging from 48-72 years of age; 8984 whites and 2548 blacks) living in 4 US communities (Forsyth County, North Carolina; the city of Jackson, Miss; selected suburbs of Minneapolis, Minn; and Washington County, Maryland) were examined during the interval from 1993 to 1995.

Methods  Drusen and other lesions typical of ARM were identified by examining a 45° color fundus photograph of 1 eye of each participant and classified by means of a modification of the Wisconsin Age-Related Maculopathy Grading System.

Results  The overall prevalence of any ARM was lower in blacks (3.7%) than whites (5.6%). After controlling for age and sex, the odds ratio for any ARM in blacks compared with whites was 0.73 (95% confidence interval, 0.58-0.91; P=.006). Few associations between atherosclerosis and its risk factors and the presence of early ARM or its component lesions were found. After adjusting for age, race, and sex, carotid artery plaque (odds ratio, 1.77; 95% confidence interval, 1.18-2.65) and focal retinal arteriolar narrowing (odds ratio, 1.79; 95% confidence interval, 1.07-2.98) were associated with retinal pigment epithelial depigmentation.

Conclusions  This population-based study documents the higher prevalence of early ARM in whites compared with blacks. Measures of atherosclerosis and its risk factors were generally unrelated to ARM and do not explain these racial differences.

From the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison (Drs R. Klein and B. E. K. Klein and Messrs Hubbard and King); National Cancer Institute (Dr Clegg) and Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (Dr Cooper), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md; and Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (Dr Folsom). A complete list of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study investigators was published previously (Am J Epidemiol. 1989;129:687-701).

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Foveal Cone-Photoreceptor Integrity in Aging Macula Disorder
Kanis et al.
IOVS 2008;49:2077-2081.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Retinal Signs and Stroke: Revisiting the Link Between the Eye and Brain
Baker et al.
Stroke 2008;39:1371-1379.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Cancer Mortality in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study
Cheung et al.
Arch Ophthalmol 2007;125:1241-1247.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Apolipoprotein E Gene Polymorphisms and Retinal Vascular Signs: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study
Liew et al.
Arch Ophthalmol 2007;125:813-818.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Circulating Inflammatory Markers and Hemostatic Factors in Age-Related Maculopathy: A Population-Based Case-Control Study
Wu et al.
IOVS 2007;48:1983-1988.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Subclinical Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease and Early Age-Related Macular Degeneration in a Multiracial Cohort: The Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
Klein et al.
Arch Ophthalmol 2007;125:534-543.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Is early age-related macular degeneration related to carotid artery stiffness? The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study
Cheung et al.
Br. J. Ophthalmol. 2007;91:430-433.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Association between Circulating White Blood Cell Count and Long-Term Incidence of Age-related Macular Degeneration: The Blue Mountains Eye Study
Shankar et al.
Am J Epidemiol 2007;165:375-382.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Plasma apolipoproteins and risk for age related maculopathy
Dashti et al.
Br. J. Ophthalmol. 2006;90:1028-1033.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Risk for Stroke
Wong et al.
ANN INTERN MED 2006;145:98-106.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Dietary glycemic index and carbohydrate in relation to early age-related macular degeneration.
Chiu et al.
Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2006;83:880-886.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The epidemiology of age related eye diseases in Asia.
Wong et al.
Br. J. Ophthalmol. 2006;90:506-511.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Prevalence of Age-Related Macular Degeneration in a Population-Based Sample of Hispanic People in Arizona: Proyecto VER
Munoz et al.
Arch Ophthalmol 2005;123:1575-1580.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The relation between C reactive protein and age related macular degeneration in the Cardiovascular Health Study
McGwin et al.
Br. J. Ophthalmol. 2005;89:1166-1170.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Detection of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Using a Nonmydriatic Digital Camera and a Standard Film Fundus Camera
Klein et al.
Arch Ophthalmol 2004;122:1642-1646.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Sunlight and the 10-Year Incidence of Age-Related Maculopathy: The Beaver Dam Eye Study
Tomany et al.
Arch Ophthalmol 2004;122:750-757.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Retinal vessel wall signs and the 5 year incidence of age related maculopathy: the Blue Mountains Eye Study
Wang et al.
Br. J. Ophthalmol. 2004;88:104-109.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Blood Pressure, Atherosclerosis, and the Incidence of Age-Related Maculopathy: The Rotterdam Study
van Leeuwen et al.
IOVS 2003;44:3771-3777.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Association of Emphysema, Gout, and Inflammatory Markers With Long-term Incidence of Age-Related Maculopathy
Klein et al.
Arch Ophthalmol 2003;121:674-678.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The Risk and Natural Course of Age-Related Maculopathy: Follow-up at 61/2 Years in the Rotterdam Study
van Leeuwen et al.
Arch Ophthalmol 2003;121:519-526.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Smoking and the 5-Year Incidence of Age-Related Maculopathy: The Blue Mountains Eye Study
Mitchell et al.
Arch Ophthalmol 2002;120:1357-1363.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT