Cataract Surgery Does Not Increase Risk of AMD Progression

February’s Ophthalmology

Data from the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) suggest there is no clinically important increased risk of progression to advanced age-related macular degeneration following cataract surgery.
This study involved 4,577 participants (8,050 eyes) from AREDS who had varying degrees of AMD and were followed every six months for up to 11 years. The researchers said this was the only prospective study in which the severity of AMD was documented prior to and following cataract surgery in a large number of cases with more than five years of regular follow-up. The Cox regression model allowed them to examine the effect of covariables on progression to late AMD. An absence of any pattern in the direction of harm indicated there was little evidence cataract surgery increased the risk of progression to late AMD.
The authors conclude that while the risk of advanced AMD does not appear to be accelerated by cataract surgery, patients should still be told of the natural course of AMD.