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  • Is NSAID Use Linked to AMD?

    By Lynda Seminara
    Selected By: Richard K. Parrish II, MD
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    Journal Highlights

    American Journal of Ophthalmology, April 2018

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    Inflammation has been implicated in the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which suggests that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may modulate disease activity. To date, most research on the link between NSAIDs and AMD has fo­cused on aspirin, and results have been conflicting. Modjtahedi et al. looked at the relationship between AMD and multiple types of NSAIDs. They found that, overall, NSAID use was not associ­ated with a higher incidence of AMD—and that longer-term use was linked to a lower risk of wet AMD.

    For this prospective cohort study, the researchers included participants of the California Men’s Health Study who completed surveys during 2002-2003 and 2006. NSAID use was defined as taking aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, celecoxib, rofecoxib, and/or valdecoxib at least 3 days a week. Patients were cat­egorized as nonusers, former users, new users, or longer-term users. NSAIDs were classified as aspirin, non-aspirin NSAIDs, and any NSAID.

    Of the 51,371 study participants, 292 (0.6%) had wet AMD, and 1,536 (3%) had the dry form of the disease. The average follow-up time was 7.4 years. Longer-term use of any NSAID was associated with lower risk of exu­dative AMD. New users of aspirin or any NSAID had a lower risk of nonexu­dative AMD, but this trend was not ob­served for longer-term users. No other meaningful relationships were noted.

    Although longer-term use of any NSAID appears to carry a lower risk of exudative AMD, the authors empha­sized that more research is needed to determine whether this finding can be applied clinically to modify disease risk.

    The original article can be found here.