The study is the first study to evaluate the effects of cataract surgery on AMD that includes a statistically appropriate number of advanced AMD patients. Data for the study were obtained from the multi-center, prospective Age-Related Eye Disease Study, funded by the National Eye Institute.
The study included 1,244 participants and analyzed data for 1,939 eyes with various stages of AMD. Patients were evaluated for visual acuity (sharpness) before and after cataract surgery, and the study found that most patients with AMD — from mild to advanced — gained visual acuity after cataract surgery. The study also found that patients with vision worse than 20/40 before surgery experienced the most improvement. No difference in visual acuity was noted among patients with “wet” (neovascular) or “dry” (central geographic atrophy) AMD.
The study also found that improvements in acuity remained significantly improved, compared to pre-surgery acuity, in the 865 eyes available for follow-up.
The study also examined the effects of various vitamins on slowing the progression of cataracts. Results suggest that high doses of vitamins C, E and beta-carotene do not affect the development or progression of cataracts. However, the study suggests that this vitamin combination plus zinc does reduce the risk of progression to advanced AMD by 25 percent over the course of five years.
Read the AAO report on the effect of cataract surgery on AMD.
