Adult body height and age-related macular degeneration in healthy individuals: A nationwide population-based survey from Korea

We sought to evaluate the relationship between adult body height and risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) among healthy Koreans using nationwide population-based data. We analyzed data derived from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2008–2011. Participants over 40 years of age were included in the sample after excluding individuals with systemic comorbidities or missing relevant data. The presence and severity of AMD were graded using fundus photographs. The relationship between body height and risk of AMD was determined using multiple logistic regression analyses. Among a total of 8,435 participants, 544 (6.45%) had AMD: 502 (5.95%) with early AMD and 42 (0.5%) with late AMD. In multivariate-adjusted analyses, taller body height was significantly associated with a lower prevalence of AMD (odds ratio [OR], 0.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.81–0.99), while body mass index (BMI) was not associated with AMD. An inverse association between body height and risk of AMD was observed most frequently in participants under 65 years of age (OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.70–0.94). Furthermore, body height showed an inverse association with risk of AMD among obese participants (BMI ≥25.0 kg/m(2)) (OR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.60–0.93). Subgroup analysis by AMD type disclosed a significant inverse association between body height and early AMD (OR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.79–0.97) but not late AMD. Our results suggest that shorter body height is independently associated with increased risk of AMD, especially early AMD, in a dose-response manner in people who are obese or under 65 years of age.