Perfil epidemiológico de pacientes com degeneração macular relacionada à idade.

Purpose: To demonstrate the epidemiological profile and risk factors of patients with age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). Methods: Observational and sectional study. One eye of each patient with greater visual impairment due to AMD treated at the University Hospital Antônio Pedro was included. The main variable to be compared was the presence of AMD divided into inexpressive, initial, intermediate, and advanced stages, according to the classification of the AREDS study. The secondary variables were demographics (gender, age, race, age group), body mass index, iris color, family history of ARMD, lens status, long- term exposure to ultraviolet light and smoking. Statistical tests were performed with Kruskal-Wallis and Chi-square analyses and Student’s t test. The significance level was set at 5%. Results: After the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 126 patients were included in this study, 20 patients with non-expressive AMD, 30 patients with early AMD, 30 patients with intermediate AMD, and 46 patients with advanced AMD. Among all the risk factors surveyed, only smoking was statistically significant (p = 0.03). Conclusion: Smoking as a risk factor for AMD had significant relevance prevalent in this research and even as a preventive factor for this ocular morbidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]