Posted on May 16, 2008 in Latest News
What Studies Say
Smoking can be a key factor contributing to visual impairment. Present and ex-smokers have more likelihood of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD) than those who never smoked, an Australian study suggests.
Researchers at the University of Sydney kept track of the 2,454 participants involved in the study for ten years. The result showed that compared to non-smokers, current smokers were at four times more risk of developing AMD and ex-smokers were at least three times more likely to develop “geographic atrophy,” an advanced form of AMD.
How Smoking Affects Eye
The macular region in the retina has blood supply in the body, which serves the receptors of the retina that enable us to see the finer details of objects around us clearly. Obstruction or failure of the blood supply to the macular area occurs even before the other functions of the body may be affected. Such damage of the blood vessel triggers a gradual failure of vision. New blood vessel growth and leakage can lead to severe vision loss and scarring of the retina.
The average age at which people are affected with age-related macular degeneration in one of the eyes is about 65 years. The other eye becomes impaired at a rate of about 12 per cent every year and about 60 per cent of patients are literally blind in both eyes by the time they are 70. As of now, there is no effective surgical or medical cure for age-related macular degeneration. However, rehabilitation counselling helps people to live more independently.
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