Vitamin D shown not to affect AMD

A deficiency in vitamin D does not necessarily predict the onset of either the wet form or the dry form of macular degeneration (AMD) contrary to the findings of a previous study. Researchers evaluated Medicare claim files and identified 6,966 who were diagnosed with vitamin D deficiency between 2004 and 2006 and left out those patients who had previously been diagnosed with macular degeneration and those who hadn't been to an eye doctor over the previous 5 years. What researchers discovered was that the prevalence of macular degeneration was low compared with prior studies and that the rates of AMD were higher and vitamin D deficiency lower in the white population than in the black population. Neither the white or black groups showed a significant link between AMD and vitamin D deficiency. In addition, the 3-year follow up showed that the rate of a first diagnosis of AMD didn't differ between those with vitamin D deficiency and a matched group without deficiency. Even after adjusting for other demographic factors and health conditions, the risk of developing macular degeneration for those who had a vitamin D deficiency still wasn't significantly higher than those who weren't deficient.*