Genetically proxied CETP inhibition links to higher AMD risk

In a study of 457,242 UK Biobank participants and 7,058 Singapore Epidemiology of Eye Diseases participants, researchers investigated whether genetically proxied cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibition influences the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The team performed drug-target Mendelian randomization and observational genetic association analyses across European- and East Asian-ancestry cohorts. In Europeans, genetically proxied CETP inhibition was associated with higher risks of advanced AMD (odds ratio, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.25 to 1.67) and early AMD (odds ratio, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.19 to 1.41). Among East Asian participants, proxied inhibition was associated with higher risks of exudative AMD (odds ratio, 3.14; 95% CI, 2.16 to 4.57), typical neovascular AMD (odds ratio, 2.84; 95% CI, 1.69 to 4.79), and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (odds ratio, 3.18; 95% CI, 2.05 to 4.93).