Evidence map›Paper›PMID 15834082›Full record

ArticleThe British journal of ophthalmology2005

28,000 Cases of age related macular degeneration causing visual loss in people aged 75 years and above in the United Kingdom may be attributable to smoking.

J R Evans, A E Fletcher, R P L Wormald

Open access · bronzeAbstract readMulticenter Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The British journal of ophthalmology, 2005. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
42citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
11.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

42 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 125 citations in OpenAlex.

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  14. Risk factors and biomarkers of age-related macular degeneration.Progress in retinal and eye research · 2016
    Review
  15. Genetic Association Analysis of Drusen Progression.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2016
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

J R EvansInternational Centre for Eye Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK. Jennifer.evans@lshtm.ac.uk
A E Fletcher
R P L Wormald
University of London · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAge related macular degeneration (AMD) causing visual impairment is common in older people. Previous studies have identified smoking as a risk factor for AMD. However, there is limited information for the older population in Britain.

methodsPopulation based cross sectional analytical study based in 49 practices selected to be representative of the population of Britain. Cases were people aged 75 years and above who were visually impaired (binocular acuity <6/18) as a result of AMD. Controls were people with normal vision (6/6 or better). Smoking history was ascertained using an interviewer administered questionnaire.

resultsAfter controlling for potentially confounding factors, current smokers were twice as likely to have AMD compared to non-smokers (odds ratio 2.15, 95% CI 1.42 to 3.26). Ex-smokers were at intermediate risk (odds ratio 1.13, 0.86 to 1.47). People who stopped smoking more than 20 years previously were not at increased risk of AMD causing visual loss. Approximately 28,000 cases of AMD in older people in the United Kingdom may be attributable to smoking.

conclusionThis is the largest study of the association of smoking and AMD in the British population. Smoking is associated with a twofold increased risk of developing AMD. An increased risk of AMD, which is the most commonly occurring cause of blindness in the United Kingdom, is yet another reason for people to stop smoking and governments to develop public health campaigns against this hazard.

Indexed as

AgedAged, 80 and overAge DistributionCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMacular DegenerationMaleRegression AnalysisRisk FactorsSex DistributionSmokingUnited Kingdom

Identifiers

PMID15834082
PMCPMC1772624
OpenAlexW2156839142

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.