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Younger siblings, C-reactive protein, and risk of age-related macular degeneration
Cohn, Amy C. Busija, Lucy Robman, Liubov D. Dimitrov, Peter N. Varsamidis, Mary Lim, Lyndell L. Baird, Paul N. Guymer, Robyn H.
Cohn, Amy C.
Busija, Lucy
Robman, Liubov D.
Dimitrov, Peter N.
Varsamidis, Mary
Lim, Lyndell L.
Baird, Paul N.
Guymer, Robyn H.
Abstract
In this study, we examined the relationship between exposure to siblings and 1) the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and 2) C-reactive protein levels. We retrospectively analyzed pooled cross-sectional data from 2 studies: the Cardiovascular Health and Age-Related Maculopathy Study (2001–2002) and the Age-Related Maculopathy Statin Study (2004–2006). Associations between number of siblings and AMD were assessed by using multinomial logistic regression. Associations between number of siblings and C-reactive protein levels were examined by using a generalized linear model for γ distribution. A higher number of younger siblings was associated with significantly lower odds of early AMD in those with a family history of AMD (odds ratio = 0.2, 95% confidence interval: 0.1, 0.8) (P = 0.022) but was unrelated to AMD for those who had no family history of the disease (odds ratio = 1.0, 95% confidence interval: 0.9, 1.2) (P = 0.874). A higher number of younger siblings correlated with lower C-reactive protein levels (β = −0.19, 95% confidence interval: −0.38, −0.01) (P = 0.036). This supports the theory that immune modulation contributes to AMD pathogenesis and suggests that exposure to younger siblings might be protective when there is a family history of AMD.
Keywords
Date
2013
Type
Journal article
Journal
American Journal of Epidemiology
Book
Volume
177
Issue
9
Page Range
933-943
Article Number
ACU Department
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Controlled