Sunlight exposure, pigmentation, and incident age-related macular degeneration.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Examine potential effects of sunlight exposure, hair color, eye color, and selected gene single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on incidence of AMD.

Methods

Subjects participated in up to five examinations over a 20-year period. Eye color, self-reported hair color as a teenager, and sunlight exposure were ascertained at the baseline examination. Presence and severity of AMD and its lesions were determined via fundus photographs. Genetic data were available on a subset of participants. The SNPs CFH Y402H rs1061170 and ARMS2 A69S rs10490924 were used to analyze genetic risk of AMD; OCA2 rs4778241 and HERC2 rs12913832 represented genetic determinants of eye color.

Results

Incidence of early AMD was higher in blond/red-haired persons compared with brown/black-hair

SUBMITTER: Klein BE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4165367 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature