HHS HealthBeat (July 22, 2010)

Eye disease and smoking

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

The eye disease age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, doesn’t only occur in the old. In fact, this damage to the eye’s light-sensitive retina can develop over time. And a study found evidence of the damage in some people as young as their twenties. It also found AMD is a bit more likely to develop young among smokers.

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ronald Klein says the risk of AMD in general rose with the amount of smoking. He says people shouldn’t smoke, for many health reasons. And he says:

``If they have increased risk of macular degeneration in their family, or they have signs of early age-related macular degeneration, they probably shouldn’t be smoking.’’  (9 seconds)

The study in Archives of Ophthalmology was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: November 21, 2011