Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol DOI 10.1007/s00417-014-2591-9

RETINAL DISORDERS

Prevalence of age-related macular degeneration in a large European cohort: Results from the population-based Gutenberg Health Study Christina A. Korb & Ulrike B. Kottler & Christian Wolfram & René Hoehn & Andreas Schulz & Isabella Zwiener & Philipp S. Wild & Norbert Pfeiffer & Alireza Mirshahi

Received: 7 August 2013 / Revised: 23 January 2014 / Accepted: 4 February 2014 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014

Abstract Background The aim of this study was to describe the sexand age-specific prevalence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and its correlation with urban or rural residence in a large and relatively young European cohort. Methods We evaluated fundus photographs from participants in the Gutenberg Health Study (GHS), a population-based, prospective, observational, single-centre study in the Rhineland-Palatine region in midwestern Germany. The

These data were presented in part at the ARVO Meeting in Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA, in 2011. Christina A. Korb and Ulrike B. Kottler contributed equally. C. A. Korb (*) : U. B. Kottler : C. Wolfram : R. Hoehn : N. Pfeiffer : A. Mirshahi Department of Ophthalmology, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Langenbeckstr.1, 55131 Mainz, Germany e-mail: [email protected] I. Zwiener Institute for Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Langenbeckstr.1, 55131 Mainz, Germany A. Schulz : P. S. Wild Department of Medicine II, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Langenbeckstr.1, 55131 Mainz, Germany P. S. Wild Center for Thrombosis and Hemostasis, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Langenbeckstr.1, 55131 Mainz, Germany P. S. Wild German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Langenbeckstr.1, 55131 Mainz, Germany

participants were 35–74 years of age at enrolment. The fundus images were classified as described in the Rotterdam Study and were graded independently by two experienced ophthalmologists (CK and UBK) based on the presence of hard and soft drusen, retinal pigmentary abnormalities, and signs of atrophic or neovascular age-related macular generation (AMD). Results Photographs from 4,340 participants were available for grading. Small, hard drusen (