Blinded by the Light? Outdoor Illumination Tied to AMD

Exposure to artificial outdoor lighting at night was associated with increased risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Korean researchers found in a case-control study, with a pronounced dose-response relationship.

When examined by degree of exposure, each jump from one quartile to the next was associated with a 67% increase in risk for new-onset exudative (“wet”) AMD (95% CI 56-78), according to Ahnul Ha, MD, of Jeju National University in Korea, and colleagues.

The risk was apparent primarily in urban areas, where individuals in the highest quartile faced a nearly 3.5-fold higher AMD incidence than those in the lowest (HR 3.42, 95% CI 2.67-4.39), the researchers reported in JAMA Network Openopens in a new tab or window.

“These findings align with the increasing body of evidence that emphasizes the negative impact of OALAN [outdoor artificial light at night] on health, further implicating OALAN as a potential risk factor for [exudative] AMD,” Ha and colleagues wrote. “Further studies incorporating comprehensive information on exposure, individual adaptive behaviors, and potential mediators are recommended to deepen our understanding in this area.”