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Australian researchers have found that long-time smokers are significantly more likely than nonsmokers to develop a common cause of vision impairment as they age.

The study involved more than 4,000 subjects who are aged 40 and over. Researchers looked at a wide range of possible risk factors, which includes age, sex, rural or urban residence, educational level, iris color, smoking history, alcohol intake, body mass index, glaucoma, high blood pressure, diabetes, and use of blood cholesterol-lowering drugs.

Age-related macular degeneration is a progressive disease that affects the central part of the retina, which can result in a gradual loss of clear central vision that is needed to perform many daily tasks such as driving. The condition is the most common cause of vision loss among older people in most developed nations of the world.

The current treatment for the disease involves laser surgery and is only partially successful and then only in patients with an early stage of the disease. Researchers are therefore looking for ways to prevent the condition from developing in the first place.

Results revealed a significant link between the eye disease and the three factors, which are age, smoking for longer than 40 years and having taken cholesterol-lowering medications.

According to the Archives of Ophthalmology (2001;119;1455-1462), since taking blood cholesterol-lowering medication significantly reduces a person's risk having a heart attack or stroke, the investigators concluded that the only good way for people to reduce their risk of developing age-related macular degeneration is to stop smoking or never to start the habit.