Supplementary Material for: Prevalence of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) in the United States: A Medicare-Based Analysis from 2014 to 2021.
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posted on 2025-11-04, 10:55 authored by figshare admin kargerfigshare admin karger, Singh R.B., Stettler I., Romano F., Parmar U.P.S., Surico P.L., Ding X., Kim J., Rai K.K., Miller J.W., Miller J.B.Purpose: To assess the prevalence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) among U.S. individuals aged 65 years and older.
Design: Retrospective cohort study using data from the Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System (VEHSS), which included Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with AMD between 2014 and 2021.
Methods: The study analyzed Medicare-insured individuals aged 65 and older diagnosed with AMD during the study period. Crude prevalence rates were calculated for AMD and its stages—early, intermediate, wet AMD, and geographic atrophy (GA)—at national and state levels. Prevalence rates were compared by age, sex, and racial/ethnic groups. Statistical analyses included the Mann-Whitney U test for age and sex comparisons, the Brown-Forsythe one-way ANOVA for racial/ethnic comparisons, and the Dunnett T3 test for post-hoc analysis.
Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcomes were the prevalence and case counts of AMD and its stages across age, sex, and racial/ethnic groups.
Results: In 2021, the VEHSS-Medicare database included 24,129,807 individuals aged 65 and older and the national AMD prevalence in this population was 10.40%. Prevalence rates for early AMD, intermediate AMD, wet AMD, and GA were 2.87%, 6.91%, 2.14%, and 0.73%, respectively. The estimated number of AMD cases increased from 2.33 million in 2014 to 2.51 million in 2021. AMD prevalence and its stages were significantly higher among individuals aged 85 and older compared to those aged 65-84, and among females compared to males. Post-hoc analyses showed significantly higher AMD prevalence in White individuals compared to all other racial groups.
Conclusions: AMD prevalence was 10.4% among individuals aged 65 and older, with higher rates observed in those aged 85 and older, females, and White individuals. These findings underscore the need for targeted public health strategies to address disparities in AMD care among older adults.
