Health care providers can expect a significant increase in age-related macular degeneration as the baby boom generation reaches retirement age, according to a new study by researchers at RTI International and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The study, published in the April issue of Archives of Ophthalmology , predicts that the aging U.S. population over the next 40 years will lead to a large increase in early and advanced age-related macular degeneration. If used universally, existing medical treatments could reduce the expected number of cases of visual impairment and blindness attributable to age-related macular degeneration by as much as 35 percent.
"In the best of circumstances, we should be prepared for a substantial increase in the number of patients with visual impairment and blindness caused by age-related macular degeneration simply because of an aging population." said David Rein, Ph.D., a senior research economist at RTI and the study's lead author. "However, newly discovered prophylactic and treatment therapies for age-related macular degeneration can offset some of the future morbidity from the disease."
The researchers estimated that by 2050 the number of people with early age-related macular degeneration will double in the United States to more than 17.8 million. Without treatment, these patients would be expected to result in approximately 1.6 million cases of visual impairment and blindness in 2050, compared to between 400,000 and 600,000 cases today. In contrast, the projected number of cases would fall 35 percent to 1 million cases if all patients received perfect medical treatment by today's standards.
"Given no change in current medical treatment, the actual number will likely fall somewhere between those two extremes," Rein said.
Treatment options for age-related macular degeneration include vitamin prophylactic therapy for patients with early age-related macular degeneration, and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injections for certain forms of advanced disease.