Demography, clinical profile and risk of retinal vein occlusion among patients with age-related macular degeneration - a tertiary hospital based study.

PURPOSE

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinal vein occlusion (RVO) share common risk factors and the risk of blindness is higher when both diseases coexist. This study aims to evaluate the risk factors of developing RVO among AMD patients and describe their clinical characteristics.

METHODS

In this single-center cohort study, 5618 Patients with AMD were divided into two groups: those who developed RVO and those who did not. Demographic, clinical and comorbidity profile were compared and multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify risk factors for RVO among patients with AMD. Additionally, baseline characteristics were compared between patients who developed central and branch retinal vein occlusion (CRVO and BRVO).

RESULTS

Among 5,618 patients with AMD, 55 developed RVO while 5563 did not. The prevalence of RVO among AMD patients was 9.79/1,000 AMD patients (95%

CI

7.2-12.4) with an incidence rate of 2.04/1,000 person-years. Multivariate regression analysis revealed patients with lower BMI(OR:0.89,95%CI:0.84-0.95,p = < 0.001), higher Charlson comorbidity index(OR:1.12,95%CI:1.02-1.22,p = 0.019), African-American ethnicity(OR:4.07,95%CI:1.55-10.73,p = 0.004), glaucoma(OR:2.09,95%CI:1.2-3.64,p = 0.009) and neovascular AMD(OR:1.92,95%CI:1.07-3.43,p = 0.028) have higher risk. On subgroup analysis, 27 patients developed CRVO, while 29 developed BRVO. The mean time to RVO development after the first visit for AMD was 4.42±3.6 years. Patients with CRVO had significantly worse visual acuity(p < 0.001), higher IOP(p = 0.012), and a higher incidence of glaucoma(p = 0.006) at baseline.

CONCLUSION

AMD Patients with lower BMI, higher CCI, African Americans, glaucoma, and neovascular AMD are at a higher risk of developing RVO. Identifying these risk factors is crucial to diagnose RVO promptly in patients with AMD as it has a higher prevalence compared to the general population, with a greater risk for vision loss.