05/03/2004
Smoking can bring on blindness: research
Researchers have warned that smoking may significantly increase the risk of going blind due a common degenerative condition of the eye in late life.
The study published in the British Medical Journal revealed that smokers had a four-fold risk of suffering from macular degeneration - a condition that affects the most densely packed area of cells in the retina that are responsible for central vision.
Around half a million people in the UK suffer from acute macular degeneration (AMD) a condition that can leave suffers almost totally blind as it generally affects both eyes.
With onset of the condition beginning sometimes as early as age 50, it mainly develops in the over 60 age group and leads to irreversible damage of the macula.
The research by a team at the University of Manchester revealed that smoking may be a factor in the development of the disease in as many as 54,000 people in the UK. Of these almost 18,000 were completely blind.
The lead researcher surgeon Simon Kelly claimed that in as many as one quarter of the sufferers with measurable AMD symptoms up to and including blindness could be linked to smoking.
He called for a sustained public campaign to highlight the importance of the link between smoking and blindness.
(SP)
The study published in the British Medical Journal revealed that smokers had a four-fold risk of suffering from macular degeneration - a condition that affects the most densely packed area of cells in the retina that are responsible for central vision.
Around half a million people in the UK suffer from acute macular degeneration (AMD) a condition that can leave suffers almost totally blind as it generally affects both eyes.
With onset of the condition beginning sometimes as early as age 50, it mainly develops in the over 60 age group and leads to irreversible damage of the macula.
The research by a team at the University of Manchester revealed that smoking may be a factor in the development of the disease in as many as 54,000 people in the UK. Of these almost 18,000 were completely blind.
The lead researcher surgeon Simon Kelly claimed that in as many as one quarter of the sufferers with measurable AMD symptoms up to and including blindness could be linked to smoking.
He called for a sustained public campaign to highlight the importance of the link between smoking and blindness.
(SP)
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:A sunny but frosty start for many. However cloud increases by midday with a few showers reaching the north coast, these mostly light but spreading inland this afternoon. Chilly. Maximum temperature 8 °C.Tonight:A rather cloudy evening with scattered showers. Becoming drier through the night with some good clear spells developing and a patchy frost away from coasts. Minimum temperature 0 °C.