

If you have diseases that affect your heart and blood vessels, you may be at higher risk of macular degeneration. Research indicates that being obese increases the chance that early or intermediate macular degeneration will progress to a more severe form of the disease. Smoking cigarettes or being regularly exposed to tobacco smoke greatly increases your risk of macular degeneration. Macular degeneration is more common in white people. Researchers have identified several genes linked to the condition. This disease is most common in people over 55. This may cause irregularities in the macula layers, resulting in vision loss or distortion.įactors that may increase your risk of macular degeneration include: When fluid leaks from the choroid, it can collect between the thin cell layer called the retinal pigment epithelium and the retina or within the layers of the retina.

Wet macular degeneration can develop in different ways: Of all people with age-related macular degeneration, about 20% have the wet form.

No one knows the exact cause of wet macular degeneration, but it develops in people who have dry macular degeneration. Cones give the eye color vision, and rods let the eye see shades of gray.

The macula is made up of densely packed light-sensitive cells called cones and rods. A healthy macula allows for clear central vision. The macula is located at the back of the eye in the center of the retina.
