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Age Related Macular Degeneration and Smoking

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) May 30 –

Older adults who smoke are twice as likely to have age related macular degeneration (AMD) than their non-smoking peers, according to findings from the largest study to look at this association in a British population.

Smoking is known to be a risk factor for AMD, lead author Dr. Jennifer R. Evans and colleagues, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, note. However, the strength of the association among adults 75 years of age and older in the UK was unclear.

To investigate, the researchers analyzed data from 516 case patients and 4364 controls drawn from 49 general practices across Britain.

Current smoking status raised the risk of AMD by 2.15-fold compared with non-smoking, according to the report in the May issue of the British Journal of Ophthalmology. Virtually no excess risk was seen in ex-smokers, especially those who had stopped more than 20 years previously.

Based on these findings, the authors estimate that 28,000 cases of AMD among older adults in the UK may be attributable to smoking.

“An increased risk of AMD, which is the most commonly occurring cause of blindness in the UK, is yet another reason for people to stop smoking and governments to develop public health campaigns against this hazard,” the researchers emphasize.

Br J Ophthalmol 2005;89:550-553.

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For more information click Age Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD).

Barbara C. Phillips, NP
OlderWiserWomen, LLC

Smoking and Your Heart

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Smoking affects every part of your body, including your heart.

Here is some information that we don’t always hear.

Women who smoke are 2-6 times more likely to have a heart attack than women who don’t smoke. And smoking just 1-4 cigarettes a day can increase your change of having a heart attack by 2-3 times.

One study found that 72% of women, who had heart attacks in their 30’s, were smokers.

Quitting smoking definitely will reduce your risk. For example: after 1 year of not smoking your risk for developing heart disease decreases by 50% and after 15 years, it is the same as someone who has never smoked.

What can you do? If you smoke, quit.

I don’t mean just cut down, but completely stop!

While there are lots of online resources, you will also find some on OlderWiserWomen for you to get started.

 

Quit Smoking!

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Quitting Smoking will positively impact your health in many ways.

  • Women who smoke are 2-6 times more likely to suffer a heart attack. The risk increases with the number of cigarettes you smoke each day. Quitting now will protect your heart.
  • Women who smoke generally experience menopausal symptoms at a younger age.
  • Over 4,000 individual compounds have been identified in tobacco and tobacco smoke. 60 of these substances are known to cause cancer. In order to cleanse our body of these deadly substances, you need to quit.
  • Got a fur baby at home? Second hand smoke increases the risk of lung cancer in your dog or cat.
  • If you spend $3.00 per pack and smoke 1 pack per day, you will spend $1095/year. (That’s low in my part of the country!)

Some resources to assist you:

Live for the woman you want to be…quit smoking!

Barbara C. Phillips, MN, NP
OlderWiserWomen, LLC