Gout and the risk of age-related macular degeneration in the elderly.
<h4>Objective</h4>To assess whether gout is associated with incident age-related macular degeneration (AMD).<h4>Methods</h4>We used the 5% Medicare claims data from 2006-12 for all beneficiaries who were enrolled in Medicare fee-for-service (Parts A, B) and not enrolled in a...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2018-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0199562&type=printable |
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| Summary: | <h4>Objective</h4>To assess whether gout is associated with incident age-related macular degeneration (AMD).<h4>Methods</h4>We used the 5% Medicare claims data from 2006-12 for all beneficiaries who were enrolled in Medicare fee-for-service (Parts A, B) and not enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan, and resided in the U.S. People were censored at the occurrence of new diagnosis of AMD, death or the end of study (12/31/2012), whichever occurred first. We used multivariable-adjusted Cox regression analyses to assess the association of gout with incident AMD, adjusted for demographics, comorbidity, and use of medications for cardiovascular disease and gout. Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated.<h4>Results</h4>In this observational cohort study, of the 1,684,314 eligible people, 116,097 developed incident AMD (6.9%). Incidence rates of AMD per 1,000 person-years were 20.1 for people with gout and 11.7 for people without gout. In multivariable-adjusted analyses, a diagnosis of gout was significantly associated with a higher risk of incident AMD with a hazard ratio of 1.39 (95% CI, 1.35, 1.43). This association was confirmed in sensitivity analyses that substituted Charlson-Romano comorbidity index continuous score with either a categorical Charlson-Romano comorbidity index score or individual Charlson-Romano index comorbidities plus hypertension, hyperlipidemia and coronary artery disease. Other covariates significantly associated with higher hazards of incident AMD were older age, female gender, White race/ethnicity, and higher Charlson-Romano comorbidity index score.<h4>Conclusions</h4>We noted a novel association of gout with AMD in the elderly. Future studies should investigate the pathways that mediate this association. |
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| ISSN: | 1932-6203 |