Monday 7 November 2022 11:37 PM Statins might prevent you losing your eyesight trends now
Statins may reduce the risk of age-related sight deterioration, according to new research.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of leading causes of severe visual impairment among older people.
Now a new study has shown that the regular use of drugs to lower cholesterol and control type two diabetes may lessen the risk of the degenerative eye disease by more than a fifth.
Researchers found that people taking drugs to lower cholesterol, like statins, had a 15 per cent reduced risk of developing AMD compared to those who were not taking the drugs
The study saw researchers draw together information from 14 studies to assess the impact of the drugs on the risk of people developing AMD.
Experts, led by a team from University Hospital Bonn in Germany, examined studies involving almost 40,000 people from the UK, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Portugal and Russia.
Participants were all over the age of 50 and taking at least one type of drug to: lower cholesterol – including statins; control diabetes – including insulin; to control inflammation – excluding steroids; or a drug to treat movement disorders caused by neurodegenerative disease.
Some 9,332 people involved in the study were diagnosed with AMD.
Researchers found that people taking drugs to lower cholesterol had a 15 per cent reduced risk of developing AMD compared to those who were not taking the drugs.
Meanwhile, people taking medicine to control diabetes appeared to have a 22 per cent lesser risk.
