A study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that one in four cases of treatable AMD were going undiagnosed by primary eye care providers, raising questions about the need for improved AMD detection strategies.
The researchers looked at a sample of 644 participants with an average age of 69.4 years, all of which were determined by their primary eye care provider to be of normal macular health. The eyes were graded by the Clinical Age-Related Maculopathy Staging system using colour fundus photography.
Three quarters (75.2%) of the eyes were found to be free of AMD, which agreed with their medical record. However, 24.8% of eyes had undiagnosed AMD, with 30% of these cases having drusen consistent with intermediate AMD. These eyes with drusen could have been treatable with nutritional supplements if the AMD had been properly diagnosed.
There was little difference between optometrists and ophthalmologists in percentage of patients with undiagnosed AMD. The patients with undiagnosed AMD tended to be older, male, and with less than high-school level education.
Because many of these undiagnosed cases would have been treatable had they been caught earlier by their primary eye care provider, it is critical that diagnosis happens as early as possible to avoid vision loss.
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