Occurrence of drusen, pigmentary changes and exudative changes in the macula with reference to age-related macular degeneration. An epidemiological study of 1000 aged individuals.

Macular changes in 60 to 80-year-old people i.e. drusen (DR), pigmentary changes (PC) and exudative changes (EXC) are assessed by fundoscopy in a random and age stratified population with 924 of the participants examined in both maculae (1848 eyes). DR, PC and EXC were found in 18.4%, 12.9% and 2.1% of all eyes with a rising frequency associated with increasing age. A separation was made between changes implying a visual acuity of 6/9 or less as criteria of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and age related macular changes without visual impairment (AMCW). The occurrence of DR, PC and EXC from eyes with AMD showed an age related rise which was also found for DR, contrary to PC and EXC deriving from eyes with AMCW. The basic forms of AMD, atrophic and exudative, were represented in 78.6% and 21.4% of individuals or 80.9% and 19.1% of eyes with AMD. The predominant findings in AMD eyes were DR + PC in combination represented in 60.7% of atrophic and 66.8% of exudative AMD eyes, while in atrophic AMCW eyes DR as only finding was leading with 59.2%. It is concluded that in eyes with atrophic macular changes, DR, respectively PC as only finding involves no visual deterioration in 80.6%, respectively 72.6%, while DR + PC in combination, as well as the appearance of EXC, are found to be the most likely expression of AMD as long as a visual impairment of 6/9 or worse is included in the definition of AMD.