Age related macular degeneration: Smoking entails major risk of blindness

BMJ 2003; 326 doi: 10.1136/bmj.326.7404.1458-c (Published 25 June 2003)
Cite this as: BMJ 2003;326:1458.4

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  1. C Simon P Kelly (Simon.Kelly@boltonh-tr.nwest.nhs.uk), consultant ophthalmic surgeon,
  2. Richard Edwards, senior lecturer in public health medicine,
  3. Peter Elton, director of public health,
  4. Paul Mitchell, professor of clinical ophthalmology
  1. Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust, Bolton BL4 OJR
  2. Evidence for Population Health Unit, School of Epidemiology and Health Sciences, The Medical School, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT
  3. Bury Primary Care NHS Trust, Bury BL9 0EN
  4. University of Sydney, Department of Ophthalmology Centre for Vision Research, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia

    EDITOR—Chopdar et al's review of age related macular degeneration was timely,1 but they paid insufficient attention to the association between smoking and age related macular degeneration.

    Pooled results from three large population based cross sectional studies found an odds ratio for all types of age related macular degeneration of 3.12 (95% confidence interval 2.10 to 4.64) for current smokers compared with never smokers.2 …

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