Amblyopia protective against age-related macular degeneration

Less amblyopic individuals are more likely to have age-related macular degeneration (AMD) diagnosed on the amblyopic eye than on the nonamblyopic eye, as reported in a study. Meanwhile, individuals with lateral asymmetry tend to have the more advanced form of AMD on the nonamblyopic eye.

For the retrospective cross-sectional study, researchers reviewed the medical records of all patients who visited the Department of Ophthalmology of the Medical University Graz between December 1996 and June 2021. The records were obtained using a large Austrian database.

Patients with AMD diagnosed on one eye side were included for further analysis. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) images were evaluated to verify the lateral asymmetry of AMD.

In total, 327,443 patients were screened for the co-occurrence of AMD and amblyopia. There were 8,742 patients who had AMD diagnosed on one side of the eye, and there were 5,051 patients who had unilateral amblyopia.

Meanwhile, a total of 163 patients had both AMD diagnosed on one side and unilateral amblyopia. Out of these, 126 patients had AMD and amblyopia on contralateral sides and 37 had AMD and amblyopia on the ipsilateral side (p<0.001).