Age-Related Macular Degeneration FAQs: Understand causes, symptoms and prevention for AMD

February is Age-Related Macular Degeneration Awareness Month

This month is the month dedicated to raising awareness for AMD, a condition which affects over 600,000 people in the UK and a massive 196 million people globally (totalling 8.7% of the population worldwide). The numbers of people living with AMD are rising dramatically and some experts predict that 288 million people will be affected by 2040. This truly highlights the scale of the problem, especially when we look at just how debilitating AMD can be once it’s advanced. In fact, 5% of all cases of global blindness are caused by AMD. Understanding why AMD occurs, what the risk factors are, and which symptoms to look out for can help you to seek treatment before your sight is completely affected.

What is AMD?

First things first, we need to cover exactly what AMD is. It’s a disease which affects the central part of your retina – at the back of your eye – which is called the macula. It’s around 5mm in diameter and it is responsible for your central vision, colour vision and fine detailed vision. Having a healthy, well-functioning macula is essential when it comes to good vision in these three areas. When your macula experiences damage, you will begin to struggle with reading and recognising faces, as well as with day to day tasks like checking your phone or using a computer for work.

Most of the time when you develop AMD, your macular cells gradually deteriorate over a number of months or years and your macular tissues thin. Alternatively, abnormal blood vessels can grow into your macula, causing blood or excess fluid to leak into your eye. Both of these forms of AMD threaten your sight, although one is treatable and one isn’t. One form is also much more common than the other….

What are the different types of AMD?

Dry AMD accounts for 85-90% of all cases of AMD. This is the less serious form of the condition with any loss of vision occurring slowly over a long period, from several months to years. In this form of AMD, your macular cells deteriorate and the macular tissues thin. Unfortunately, there is no treatment available for dry AMD, and up to 15% of dry AMD sufferers go on to develop wet AMD.

Wet AMD, however, is thankfully treatable if it’s detected early on. Instead of your retina cells slowly deteriorating over time, as happens in dry AMD cases, wet AMD involves abnormal blood vessels growing into your macula. The body creates new blood vessels to supply nutrients and oxygen to your retina but when it grows too many, it actually ends up having a negative effect. The newly-formed blood vessels can begin to leak blood or fluid into your macula, causing scarring in your macula and leading to vision deterioration. Treatment for wet AMD involves regular eye injections for 3 months to restore vision, and specialist laser treatment is available as an alternative for patients who don’t respond to the injections.

What factors increase your AMD risk?

There are a number of risk factors for developing AMD and genetics are involved to some degree. If your parents or other close family members have AMD, you should be especially vigilant about attending regular eye tests in order to detect early signs of the condition. Particular genes are associated with 74% of AMD cases. Age is another one of the main risk factors for AMD with 1 in 200 people over the age of 60 suffering with it. This rises to 1 in 5 people aged 90 and older. Other lifestyle factors and choices which can play a part in the onset of AMD include:

• Poor diet (obesity doubles your AMD risk)
• Lack of exercise (aim for 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week)
• Smoking (you’re more than four times more likelyto develop AMD if you smoke)
• High blood pressure (ideal range is between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg)

What are the symptoms of AMD?

A massive 78% of people who are diagnosed with AMD have already suffered irreversible vision loss. In fact, almost half of patients recently diagnosed with AMD have eyesight of 20/200 or worse. To put this into perspective, 20/20 vision is very good vision, 20/40 is driving standard vision, while 20/200 qualifies as blind. AMD is also painless which can make it difficult to know anything is wrong before vision loss occurs.

There are a number of symptoms of the condition which apply to both wet and dry AMD. You should be aware of the following changes to your vision:

• Light sensitivity
• Straight lines appearing bent
• Faded colours and poor colour perception
• Words disappearing when you read
• Objects appearing to change shape or size
• Dark smudges or gaps in your central vision
• Vision taking longer to adjust in dim light

If you notice any changes to your vision, you should contact your optician as soon as possible for an eye examination. AMD can be picked up with a routine eye test before you even experience any symptoms, so visiting your optician for regular eye tests is crucial in detecting it early.

How can you prevent AMD?

One of the most important changes you can make to lower your risk of developing AMD relates to your diet. The Mediterranean diet is recommended, which has a focus on fruit and vegetables, legumes, seeds, nuts and grains. A diet rich in nutrients like lutein and zeaxanthin helps your eye health by increasing the density of macular pigments. Other key foods to include in your diet are leafy greens, fish for omega 3, dairy and poultry. Key foods to avoid include red meats, processed food, and fried foods which are high in fats.

Exercising regularly is great for keeping you in overall good health, managing your weight and helping your cardiovascular health. Aim for two and a half hours per week of moderate to vigorous exercise to help delay the onset of AMD. If you’ve already been diagnosed with AMD, taking up exercise – if you don’t already regularly do it – is a good way to help slow the progression of the condition. We also previously touched on how smoking can quadruple your risk of developing AMD, and giving this up comes hand in hand with improving your overall health by exercising more and eating well.

If you do experience any changes to your vision, be sure to contact your optician who can perform an eye test to detect any signs of AMD. Aside from attending eye tests when you experience visual changes, you should also go to your optician at least every two years routinely, to keep on top of any conditions or diseases occurring behind the scenes, before your vision is affected.