Smoking Leads To Earlier Blindness

The older you are, the worse your eyesight tends to get. This is because of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a

condition that causes the muscles and nerves of the eyes to slowly degenerate over time, eventually leading to a complete

loss of vision. AMD is the leading cause of loss of eyesight among the elderly, though recent research reveals that it isn't just age that can cause people to develop AMD. The list of smoking effects on the body is already disturbingly long, but recent research reveals that there might be one more that needs to be added to the list. According to some studies, smoking might increase the risk of someone developing AMD earlier than usual, with the increased risk factor reaching an estimated 47% in adults.

Part of the problem lies in the fact that smoking lowers the amount of blood flow to the eyes, which can cause damage to that critical area of the body. Various negative changes in the retina can also be listed among the list of smoking effects on the body. The decrease in antioxidants throughout the body can also do damage. These are noted to be the primary changes smoking causes in the body that can lead to an increased risk of developing AMD. The retinal area is the primary indicator of just how much damage AMD has managed to do to the eye in general, so most scientists will examine that part of the eye to determine just how much degeneration has occurred. A study concluded by researchers at the University of Wisconsin included data on the progress of AMD among smokers and non-smokers.

For many years, there have been suspicions of just what smoking does to the eyes. The released data from the study only

confirmed that lower defense against AMD is among the list of smoking effects. However, there was one facet of the data that was not entirely expected. Apart from increasing the risk, the data also indicated that there was a very good chance that smoking actually can increase the rate of degeneration of the eyes for people who already developed AMD. This was not

expected by the researchers, though data gathered from the study could easily serve adequate proof that such is the case.

Theoretically, the same smoking effects that can increase susceptibility to AMD can also increase the rate of degeneration, leading to an earlier loss of vision for smokers than non-smokers.

According to the research team, 18% of the female subjects and 21% of the males were smoking when the study was started, back in 1988. The subjects were examined once in 1988, with another examination administered during 1990. After that, further studies were conducted with five-year intervals in between, with the purpose of gathering accurate long-term data for their results. Aside from the increased risk factor found, the average age for a smoker to develop AMD was around 69. Former smokers were more likely to develop AMD at around the age of 72, while non-smokers were likely to develop AMD at around 74. The researchers noted that there appeared to be no correlation between intensity of smoking or how much was smoked in the intervening years, and the risk factor.