VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY IN NEOVASCULAR VERSUS NONNEOVASCULAR AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION.
Itty, Sujit MD; Day, Shelley MD; Lyles, Kenneth W. MD; Stinnett, Sandra S. DPH; Vajzovic, Lejla M.; Mruthyunjaya, Prithvi MD
Purpose: To compare 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (NVAMD) with patients with nonneovascular age-related macular degeneration and control patients.
Methods: Medical records of all patients diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration and tested for serum 25OHD level at a single medical center were reviewed. Control patients were selected from patients diagnosed with pseudophakia but without age-related macular degeneration. The lowest 25OHD level available for each patient was recorded.
Results: Two hundred sixteen patients with nonneovascular age-related macular degeneration, 146 with NVAMD, and 100 non-age-related macular degeneration control patients were included. The levels of 25OHD (mean +/- SD) were significantly lower in NVAMD patients (26.1 +/- 14.4 ng/mL) versus nonneovascular age-related macular degeneration (31.5 +/- 18.2 ng/mL, P = 0.003) and control (29.4 +/- 10.1 ng/mL, P = 0.049) patients. The prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency (<30 ng/mL 25OHD), deficiency (<20 ng/mL), and severe deficiency (<10 ng/mL) were highest in the NVAMD group. The highest quintile of 25OHD was associated with a 0.35 (95% confidence interval, 0.18-0.68) odds ratio for NVAMD.
Conclusion: This is the largest study to compare 25OHD levels in patients with the different clinical forms of age-related macular degeneration. Mean 25OHD levels were lower and vitamin D deficiency was more prevalent in NVAMD patients. These associations suggest that further research is necessary regarding vitamin D deficiency as a potentially modifiable risk factor for the development of NVAMD.
(C) 2014 by Ophthalmic Communications Society, Inc.
“Dry” = non-neovascular
“Wet” neovascular
The dry form = the early stage = most common form
Summary by Vitamin D Life
| AMD | Vitamin D |
| Dry | 32 ng |
| Wet | 26 ng |
| None | 29 ng |
See also Vitamin D Life
- Macular degeneration 4X more likely if low vitamin D and a particular gene – May 2013
- Macular Degeneration decreased with UV and perhaps Vitamin D genetics– Oct 2011
- Vitamin D may help prevent macular degeneration in women younger than 75 – April 2011
- Off topic: Baby-sized aspirin doubles chance of getting wet macular degeneration
- Male late stage Age-Related Macular Degeneration is strongly associated with low vitamin D – July 2014
- Late stage AMD 2.2 more likely if low vitamin D – meta-analysis April 2016