Chronic Age Related Macular Degeneration Risks
ARMD (or Age Related Macular Degeneration) is not a pleasant disease to have – at any age. It is a chronic disorder that usually happens later on in life, usually starting around age 50. Even though it tends to be a disease of older people, younger people can start looking at the risk factors and try to avoid them if at all possible. Of course, some risks can’t be avoided but being informed might save precious eyesight to some degree if the disease strikes later in life.
There are several risk factors involved with ARMD. The most common is aging and most people over age 66 will have some form of the disease. It gets worse as age 75 approaches. Another hazard is smoking which contributes greatly to the disease. It has about 3 times the risk factor of getting the disease as compared to non-smokers. It does decrease somewhat if a person quits smoking and the longer a person quits, the less chance he or she will develop the disease.
Genetics, too, play an important role in determining if a person will get ARMD. If there is a family history of the disease, the chances are high that a relative will get it also. The risk is about 2.5 times as great if the disease has occurred somewhere within a family. Having factor H (CFH) gene has been attributed also to developing the disease. If genetic makeup contains this factor, there is a very high chance that the person will get ARMD.
Other risk factors include the following: too much time in the sun, cardiovascular disease, being a female, high cholesterol and obesity. Caucasians experience the disease more often than other races. Avoiding these risks is an important part of delaying the disease for as long as possible. It can be avoided entirely in some cases if the risk factors are not high. The Age Related Macular Degeneration risks should be given serious thought throughout life. Eyesight is precious and older individuals need it just as much, if not more, than persons much younger.
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