Arch Ophthalmol Chic
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Arch Ophthalmol Chic · May 2004
Sunlight and the 10-year incidence of age-related maculopathy: the Beaver Dam Eye Study.
To examine the association of sunlight exposure and indicators of sun sensitivity with the 10-year incidence of age-related maculopathy (ARM). ⋯ Few significant relationships between environmental exposure to light and the 10-year incidence and progression of ARM were found in the Beaver Dam Eye Study. Consistent with results from the baseline and 5-year follow-up examinations, significant associations were found between extended exposure to the summer sun and the 10-year incidence of early ARM and increased retinal pigment. A protective effect of hat and sunglasses use by participants while in their teens and 30s against the 10-year incidence of soft indistinct drusen and retinal pigment epithelial depigmentation was also found, but only in those who reported the highest amount of sun exposure during the same periods.