Abstract
Background: AMD is considered a multifactorial disease associated with genetic and environmental factors. Age is the strongest non-modifiable risk factor. The risk of developing advanced AMD is 3 times higher among individuals aged 60-80 years than in those under the age of 60.5. Aim: This work aims to determine the effect of age and gender as risk factors in Macular Degeneration (MD) patients. Materials and Methods: A systematic search was performed over different medical databases to identify Ophthalmology studies, which studied the outcome of MD patients. Using the meta-analysis process, either with fixed or random-effects models, we conducted a meta-analysis on the overall MD prevalence as a primary outcome, and no correlation between age, gender, and MD prevalence as secondary outcomes. Results: Seven studies were identified involving 30515 patients, 14790 in the Male group and 15725 in the Female group. The meta-analysis process revealed that the pooled MD prevalence of (11.8%), with a non-significant difference in MD prevalence in the Male group, compared to the Female group (p>0.05). Using Spearman's correlation analysis, the meta-analysis process revealed a highly significant positive correlation between age and MD prevalence (p<0.05). Conclusion: To conclude, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of blindness in the elderly. The lesions associated with AMD are commonly divided into early AMD (soft drusen with or without retinal pigment abnormalities, frequently called "age-related maculopathy") and late AMD (neovascular disease and geographic atrophy). High age and early AMD are strong risk factors for developing late AMD.