Objective: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are degenerative diseases that increase in prevalence with older ages.
Materials and Methods: In our prospective cross-sectional study, the patients in the dry AMD group consisted of 296 early and 284 late-stage patients. The neovascular AMD group included 285 early and 277 late-stage patients. The control group consisted of 300 patients similar in age and gender. AMD patients were grouped as dry and neovascular types, and early and late-stage. Patients were questioned about their use of medication for AD and it was recorded that those who used it had the disease. If there was no medication use, detailed inquiries were made for AD. If one of the complaints seen in AD was present, the patient was referred to a neurologist and the presence of AD was confirmed.
Results: AD was detected in 3% (n=9) of the control group. In the early dry type 7.1%(n=21) and late-dry type 7.4% (n=21) AD were detected, and the difference was significant when compared with the control group (p=0.03, p=0.02). In the early neovascular type 6.6% (n=19) and late-neovascular type 6.5% (18) AD were determined and the difference was significant (p=0.04, p=0.04).A significant association was determined between age and the frequency of AD in both types of AMD(p=0.03, p=0.04). No significant difference was found between unilateral and bilateral involvement,and between early- and late-stage AMD diseases (p>0.05). Also, the frequency of AD was found to be 2.89 times higher in those with dry type AMD, and 2.14 times higher in those with neovascular type AMD(p=0.03, p=0.04).
Conclusion: Common pathways in the etiologies of wet and dry AMD and AD may explain the higher risk of AD in these AMD. Also, in our study, we concluded that this risk does not vary depending on the stage and involvement of the disease.