Presbyopia and age-related Macular degeneration

Objective: To evaluate the design of spectacle lenses and daily spectacle use in presbyopes over 60 years of age with and without age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods: A cross sectional study was designed, and a web questionnaire was distributed to a two ophthalmological centers database of presbyopic outpatients over 60 years of age with and without AMD. The questionnaire included data of monofocal, bifocal or multifocal spectacle use, and asked whether the subjects used their spectacles full day or only for reading purposes. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to test whether full or part day spectacle use, and use of multifocals or bifocals were associated with the odds of AMD, controlling by age, gender and cataract surgery. Results: The sample included 780 subjects, of which 379 (48.6%) had AMD; 61.3% were women. Glasses were used only for near vision by 60.9% of the individuals, while 26.0% used either bifocals or multifocals as full time wearers. Increasing age (Odds ratio [OR]: 1.04, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.06, p<0.001), undergoing cataract surgery (OR: 3.10, 95%CI 2.07 to 4.65, p<0.001) and wearing glasses all day (OR: 1.94, 95%CI 1.29 to 2.91, p=0.001) were associated with the presence of AMD. Conclusions: We found an association between the presence of AMD and full-time spectacle wear. Further prospective controlled studies are necessary to study the link between spectacle use and AMD development.