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SMOKING AND AMD
SMOKING AND AMD
ANCHOR LEAD: A COMMON EYE DISEASE HAS NOW BEEN LINKED TO SMOKING, ELIZABETH TRACEY REPORTS
Diseases related to cigarette smoking now include age-related macular degeneration, or AMD. AMD is the leading cause of preventable blindness in the US, with smokers up to four times more likely to develop the disease as nonsmokers, according to a recent study from Great Britain. Sheila West, professor of ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins, says since we are already on the verge of an epidemic of AMD related blindness due to our aging population, this is yet one more reason for smokers to quit.
WEST: Smoking for any number of reasons that are easy to tick off could be the basis for an important intervention. There's absolutely no reason not to recommend smoking cessation not just for eye health but for a number of other conditions to which we would add prevention of cataract and prevention of macular degeneration. :21
Smoking is more likely to be related to the severe forms of the disease which are more likely to result in blindness.
At the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, I'm Elizabeth Tracey reporting.
