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The Beaver Dam Eye Study

Arch Ophthalmol. 2001;119:246-250.

Objective  To investigate the relation of sunlight exposure and indicators of sun sensitivity with the 5-year incidence of early age-related maculopathy (ARM).

Design  Longitudinal, population-based study. Participants (aged 43-86 years at baseline) in the Beaver Dam Eye Study were reexamined from 1993 to 1995, 5 years after the baseline examination. Questionnaire data about sunlight exposure and sun sensitivity were obtained at baseline. Additional information about earlier life patterns of exposure was ascertained at follow-up. Stereoscopic color fundus photographs were graded to determine the presence of ARM at the 5-year follow-up in eyes free from signs of early ARM at the baseline examination.

Results  Leisure time spent outdoors while persons were teenagers (aged 13-19 years) and in their 30s (aged 30-39 years) was significantly associated with the risk of early ARM (odds ratio, 2.09; 95% confidence interval, 1.19-3.65). There was a slight, but nonsignificant, protective effect associated with use of hats and sunglasses while persons were teenagers and in their 30s (odds ratio, 0.72; 95% confidence interval, 0.50-1.03). People with red or blond hair were slightly more likely to develop early ARM than people with darker hair (odds ratio, 1.33; 95% confidence interval, 0.97-1.83). There were no associations between estimated ambient UV-B exposure or markers of sun sensitivity and the incidence of early ARM.

Conclusion  Exposure to sunlight may be associated with the development of early ARM.

Karen J. Cruickshanks, PhD; Ronald Klein, MD; Barbara E. K. Klein, MD; David M. Nondahl, MS
From the Departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (Drs Cruickshanks, R. Klein, and B. E. K. Klein and Mr Nondahl) and Preventive Medicine (Dr Cruickshanks), University of Wisconsin, Madison.

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