Abstract
Purpose To determine the prevalence and incidence of exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in South Korea. Design Nationwide population-based retrospective study using data from the Korean national health claims database from 2008 through 2012. Participants Entire South Korean population 40 years of age or older (n = 22 376 510). Methods We accessed the national health claims database to identify exudative AMD patients using the registration program database for rare intractable diseases, which included ophthalmologist-confirmed exudative AMD, for copayment reduction. Main Outcome Measures Prevalence and incidence rates of exudative AMD. Results During the 5-year study period, 81 513 patients had exudative AMD (48.2% men) and were included in the prevalence estimates. The prevalence in the general population 40 years of age or older was 36.43 (95% confidence interval [CI], 36.18-36.68) per 10 000 people, that in men was 37.01 (95% CI, 36.65-37.38) per 10 000 people, and that in women was 35.90 (95% CI, 35.56-36.24) per 10 000 people. After excluding prevalent cases during the initial 2-year washout period, 20 196 cases were identified with incident exudative AMD during the final 3-year study period (2010-2012). The incidence in the general population 40 years of age or older was 3.02 (95% CI, 2.98-3.06) per 10 000 person-years, that in men was 3.76 (95% CI, 3.69-3.83) per 10 000 person-years, and that in women was 2.34 (95% CI, 2.29-2.39) per 10 000 person-years. The prevalence and incidence increased with advancing age and peaked at approximately 80 years of age. Both the prevalence and incidence were higher in men than in women in all age groups. Conclusions These detailed estimates of the nationwide, population-based prevalence and incidence of exudative AMD in an Asian population may help to understand the disease pathophysiology and to plan accordingly within the healthcare system.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2063-2070.e1 |
| Journal | Ophthalmology |
| Volume | 122 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1 Oct 2015 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (grant no.: NRF-2014R1A1A2058601) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, Seoul, Korea (N.-K.C.); and by the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital Research Fund, Seongnam, Korea (grant no.: 12-2013-019 [S.J.W.]).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 American Academy of Ophthalmology.