Prevalence of myopic maculopathy in the German population: results from the Gutenberg health study

Abstract

AIMS: To determine the prevalence of myopic maculopathy in the general population in Germany and to analyse potential associations with ocular and systemic factors. DESIGN: The Gutenberg Health Study is a population-based study, including 15 010 participants aged 35-74 years. METHODS: Myopic maculopathy was graded in phakic eyes with spherical equivalent ≤-6 D by assessing fundus photographs according to a recent international photographic classification system (META-PM). 801 eyes of 519 participants (mean age 51.0±0.77 years) met the conditions and had gradable fundus photographs. Age-specific prevalence estimates were computed. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to assess associated factors with myopic maculopathy. RESULTS: Myopic maculopathy was present in 10.3% (95% CI 7.9 to 13.3) study participants. The prevalence was 8.6% (95% CI 6.1% to 11.9%) in the 397 right eyes and 8.7% (95% CI 6.2% to 12.0%) in the 404 left eyes. The most common type of pathology was diffuse atrophy (8.1%), followed by patchy atrophy (1.3%) and macular atrophy (0.5%); plus lesions were present in 3% (right eyes). Age (OR 1.07 per year, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.11, p<0.001), higher myopic refractive error (p<0.001), and male gender (p=0.02) were associated with myopic maculopathy, while cardiovascular risk factors and socioeconomic factors were not. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of myopic maculopathy in the German population was 0.5%, and 10% in high myopic participants, aged 35-74 years. These population-based data are the first in Europe. Myopic maculopathy was related to severity of myopic refractive error and age.