Association between Age-Related Macular Degeneration and the Risk of Diabetes Mellitus: A Nationwide Cohort Study

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a degenerative and progressive disease of the macula, the part of the retina that is responsible for central vision. AMD shares some risk factors with diabetes mellitus (DM), but little is known about the risk of DM in individuals with AMD. With the goal of establishing novel perspectives, this study aimed to investigate the association between AMD and the risk of DM using the Korean Nationwide Health Insurance Database. Individuals aged ≥ 50 years who underwent a national health screening program in 2009 were enrolled. Participants were categorized by the presence of AMD and visual disability (VD). The Cox hazard regression model was used to examine hazard ratios (HRs) of DM with adjustment for potential confounders. Stratified analyses by age, sex, and comorbidities (hypertension or dyslipidemia) were also performed. During a mean follow-up of 8.61 years, there were 403,367 (11.76%) DM incidences among the final 3,430,532 participants. The crude HR (95% confidence interval (CI)) was 1.16 (1.13–1.20) for AMD. After adjusting for potential confounders, AMD was associated with a 3% decreased risk of DM (aHR 0.97, 95% CI 0.95–1.00), but no significant association with the risk of DM was found in AMD with VD (aHR 1.03, 95% CI 0.93–1.14). In summary, we did not find an increased risk of DM in individuals with AMD. A 3% decreased risk of DM in patients with AMD is not clinically meaningful. Our study suggests that the association between AMD and the risk of DM is weak, considering the potential confounders. Further studies examining this association are needed to extend our knowledge.