Age-related eye disease linked to modestly higher cancer risk
People with the eye disease had higher relative cancer risk (adjusted hazard ratio 1.084) than matched people without it over up to 10 years.
Limit: People with prior cancer or missing data were excluded
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
In this observational cohort study, researchers followed 334,091 people aged 50 or older in South Korea, including 83,742 with neovascular age-related macular degeneration and 250,349 matched people without it. This eye disease involves abnormal blood vessel growth. Researchers used national health insurance records, with follow-up lasting up to 10 years.
Cancer incidence was 23.55 per 1,000 person-years in the eye-disease group versus 21.01 per 1,000 person-years in controls. Person-years combine the number of people followed with their time under observation. The link remained after accounting for age, sex, smoking and other factors. The eye disease was also associated with higher risks of pancreatic, lung, thyroid, kidney, bladder and prostate cancers. No statistically significant links appeared for other cancer types.
Why it matters
Age-related macular degeneration is a leading cause of vision loss in older adults. The authors suggested it may mark broader vulnerability to selected cancers, possibly through shared aging-related processes involving blood vessel growth, inflammation and genetic susceptibility.
Caveats
This observational study cannot establish cause and effect or the proposed shared mechanisms. The findings concern people aged 50 or older in South Korea; people with prior cancer or missing data were excluded.
Comments
Be the first to comment.