Association of Mortality with Ocular Diseases and Visual Impairment in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2: Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 Report Number 13.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

To evaluate the association of mortality with visual acuity (VA) impairment, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and cataract surgery.

DESIGN:

Cohort study.

PARTICIPANTS:

Participants with at least intermediate AMD enrolled in a randomized controlled clinical trial of lutein/zeaxanthin and/or omega-3 fatty acids, the Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2), for treatment of AMD and cataract.

METHODS:

Baseline and annual eye examinations included best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) assessments, slit-lamp examinations, and stereoscopic fundus photographs that were centrally graded for development of late AMD (central geographic atrophy or neovascular AMD) or pseudophakia. Cause-specific mortality was determined on the basis of the International Classification of Diseases 9th or 10th Revision codes. Risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality was assessed with Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for age, sex, AMD severity, VA, history of cataract surgery, and assigned AREDS2 study treatment. Analyses included baseline covariates: race, education, smoking status, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

RESULTS:

During follow-up (median 5 years), 368 (9%) of the 4203 AREDS2 participants died. Participants with neovascular AMD in 1 eye at baseline had a statistically significant increased risk for mortality compared with participants with no or few drusen (hazard ratio [HR], 1.56; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21-2.01; P < 0.001). Poorer survival was associated with bilateral cataract surgery before enrollment compared with baseline bilateral phakia (HR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.29-2.07; P < 0.001) and with BCVA of less than 20/40 compared with participants with 20/40 or better (HR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.06-2.30; P = 0.024), adjusted for age, sex, and statistically significant covariates. Participants who received antivascular endothelial growth factor therapies for neovascular AMD had decreased mortality compared with those who did not (HR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.57-0.88; P = 0.002). The association between all-cause mortality and AREDS2 treatment whether assessing the main or individual treatment effect was not significantly different (omega-3 fatty acids main effect HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.96-1.45; P = 0.12; lutein/zeaxanthin main effect HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.85-1.28; P = 0.71).

CONCLUSIONS:

In AREDS2, the presence of late AMD, bilateral cataract surgery, and VA less than 20/40 was associated with decreased survival. However, oral supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids, lutein plus zeaxanthin, zinc, or beta-carotene had no statistically significant impact on mortality.

• Authors: Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 Research Group, Chandana Papudesu, Traci E Clemons, Elvira Agrón, Emily Y Chew
• Journal: Ophthalmology (Ophthalmology) Vol. 125 Issue 4 Pg. 512-521 (04 2018) ISSN: 1549-4713 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 29153456 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural)
• Copyright: Published by Elsevier Inc.

Chemical References

• Angiogenesis Inhibitors
• Fatty Acids, Omega-3
• Zeaxanthins
• Lutein

Topics

• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Angiogenesis Inhibitors (therapeutic use)
• Cataract Extraction (mortality)
• Cause of Death
• Cohort Studies
• Dietary Supplements
• Double-Blind Method
• Fatty Acids, Omega-3 (therapeutic use)
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Humans
• Lutein (therapeutic use)
• Macular Degeneration (drug therapy, mortality)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Proportional Hazards Models
• Slit Lamp Microscopy
• Survival Rate
• United States (epidemiology)
• Visual Acuity (physiology)
• Visually Impaired Persons (statistics & numerical data)
• Zeaxanthins (therapeutic use)