What Increases Your Risk

The major risk factors for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) include:

• Older age. Age is the biggest risk factor for developing AMD. About 2% of people who are older than 50 have AMD. After age 75, up to 46% of people may have some form of it.²
• A family history of the disease. You are much more likely to get AMD if a close relative has it.
• Race. Whites appear to have a higher risk than blacks or Hispanics.
• Smoking. People who smoke are about twice as likely to develop AMD than nonsmokers. The risk appears to be higher for people who have been heavy smokers or who have smoked for a long time.²
• One eye with wet AMD. Nearly half of people with wet AMD in one eye get wet AMD in the other eye within 5 years.¹

Other risk factors for developing AMD may include:²

• Deposits at the back of the eye called drusen. Eyes with large, soft drusen deposits are at a greater risk for developing abnormal blood vessels and wet AMD.
• A diet high in saturated fat and cholesterol.
• Low dietary intake of carotenoids, antioxidant vitamins, and zinc.