A Comprehensive Health Screening Program Reveals the Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

<b>Background/Objectives</b>: We investigated the prevalence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and associated risk factors in Korean subjects who underwent comprehensive health screening examinations. <b>Methods</b>: This single health screening center-based cross-sectional study included a total of 73,574 consecutive participants older than 30 years who underwent a health screening examination, including fundus photography, between October 2003 and December 2010. Weighted prevalence and risk factors for AMD were evaluated. Logistic regression was used to identify AMD risk factors. <b>Results</b>: The weighted prevalence of AMD was 15.42%, with a prevalence of 3.34% among people in their 30s. Advanced age significantly increased the risk for both early/intermediate AMD (<i>p</i> < 0.001 across the age groups of 40, 50, 60, and 70+ years) and advanced AMD (<i>p</i> <0.001 for the age groups of 60 and 70+ years). The male sex was strongly associated with an increased risk of both early/intermediate and advanced AMD (<i>p</i> < 0.001 for both). Retinal arteriosclerosis, whether low- or high-grade, was linked to early/intermediate AMD (<i>p</i> < 0.001 for both grades), whereas only high-grade arteriosclerosis was linked to advanced AMD (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Additionally, hypertension (<i>p</i> < 0.001), the hepatitis B carrier status (<i>p</i> < 0.001), elevated mean corpuscular volume (<i>p</i> < 0.001), and lower serum uric acid levels (<i>p</i> = 0.014) were associated with early/intermediate AMD. Higher education levels protected against early/intermediate AMD (<i>p</i> = 0.004 for high school graduates, <i>p</i> < 0.001 for ≥college graduates). Higher serum inorganic phosphate levels (<i>p</i> = 0.002) and lower total serum ALB levels (<i>p</i> = 0.005) were significant risk factors for advanced AMD. <b>Conclusions</b>: Korean individuals as young as 30 years old are at risk of AMD. This study newly identified associations between retinal arteriosclerosis and both early/intermediate and advanced AMD, as well as associations between serum inorganic phosphate levels and total ALB levels with advanced AMD.