Aging of the retina. Report 1

PURPOSE. To study the effect of age on the development of involutional changes in the retina. METHODS. The influence of the age factor on the development of degree I–II retinopathy (RP) was studied on the basis of a 6-year prospective observation of a natural cohort of 7959 initially healthy male members of locomotive crews (LCMs) aged 18–66 years old. A four-field 2×2 table and a multivariate regression model were used to evaluate the relative risk (RR) of each year of life as an independent pathogenic factor. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistica 6.0. RESULTS. Comparative analysis revealed an association between RP I–II and the ages of 26, 28–30, 32, 34, 35, and 37 years. In multivariate analysis, ages 18–38 were not identified as statistically significant for RP I–II. The ages of 26–46 years did not demonstrate a significant RR. Additionally, the ages of 38, 42, 45, and 59 years did not show significant RR values and were not selected as predictors associated with the development of RP I–II in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION. The statistical heterogeneity of chronological age as an independent risk factor may be linked to specific age-related characteristics and the unique influence of each life period on aging processes and RP I–II progression. Further research is required to explore the age-related risk factor using alternative statistical approaches to clarify its unique characteristics and role in retinal damage in RP I–II development.