- The number of people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is expected to increase significantly over the next 20 years.
- AMD does not cause complete blindness but can impair vision enough to prevent driving, reading, and recognition of faces.
- Federal regulators have approved injections of anti-VEGF medications to treat AMD.
The number of people worldwide affected by age-related macular degeneration is expected to rise significantly during the next 20 years, according to a
Researchers looked at previous research on narrative reviews about macular degeneration published between 2018 and 2023 and identified 1,072 articles. They included 58 articles in their reviews.
The researchers determined that age-related macular degeneration affects approximately 20 million people in the United States and 196 million people worldwide.
They said they expect the disease to increase to 288 million globally by 2040.
One expert, however, said the condition may not actually be increasing.
“I don’t think it is on the rise. I think we are diagnosing it more. We have better tools for diagnosing so we can diagnose more often and earlier. Both are positives for patients,” Dr. Talia Kaden, an ophthalmologist at Northwell Health in New York who was not involved in the review, told Medical News Today.
She added the higher numbers might actually be a good trend.
“Diagnosing macular degeneration earlier means better outcomes. The better your vision is at the start of treatment, the better it is after treatment,” Kaden said.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of severe vision impairment in older populations.
AMD occurs when extracellular deposits accumulate in the outer retina, leading to photoreceptor degeneration and loss of central vision. It is a progressive disease…
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