Prevalence of age-related macular diseases in an old French population (the MONTRACHET Study)

National audiencePurpose To describe the prevalence of age‐related macular diseases in a French population‐based study (the Montrachet study) older than 74 years. Methods The Three City study (3C) was a prospective study including 9294 patients aged of 65 years or more from three French cities (Dijon, Bordeaux, and Montpellier) at enrolment in 1999. After 10 years of follow‐up, an eye examination was proposed to participants of the 3C cohort in Dijon and 1153 participants were included in the so‐called Montrachet study. All patients underwent a complete eye examination including nonmydriatic color retinal photographs. The photographs were classified according to the type of abnormality (intermediate soft drusen, large soft distinct or indistinct drusen, reticular drusen or large area of soft drusen reaching 500 µm in diameter, hyperpigmentation or hypopigmentation), and their location (central or pericentral) using the classification of the Multi‐ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) and that used in the Rotterdam Study. Patients were then classified into 3 categories: early age‐related macular degeneration (AMD), late AMD (atrophic or neovascular). Results Data were available for 1069 patients: 396 men (37.0%) and 673 women (63.0%). The mean age was 82.2 ± 3.8 years. The prevalence of healthy subjects was 56.0%. Stages 1, 2 and 3 accounted for 32.6%, 7.7% and 1.5%, respectively. The late AMD stages represented 2.2% (24 patients). Smoking was not significantly associated with AMD categories. Conclusions The prevalence of AMD grading in our population is consistent with the literature. The classification of participants according to different macular abnormalities may predict the populations at risk of developing an advanced grade and can help to adapt the management. The relationship with other risk factors will be the next step of this analysis