Macular Pigment Optical Density and its Determinants among Adults: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Interplay exists between the risk factors of Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and the factors influencing Macular Pigment Optical Density (MPOD) level. Early diagnosis and antioxidants supplementation is the only intervention which may possibly slow down the macular degeneration. Aim: To measure MPOD and study the possible risk factors associated with subnormal MPOD among adults patients attending Outpatient Department (OPD). Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among patients aged 20 years and above who visited Ophthalmology OPD in a tertiary care centre during the month of August (between 1st to 31st) 2018. Only those having Best-Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA) better than 6/60 were enrolled for the study. MPOD was measured using a macular densitometer (Macular Matrics II, USA). Patients found to have subnormal MPOD further underwent Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and fundus. Fischer's-exact and Chi-Square tests were applied wherever applicable; differences were considered to be statistically significant at p-value <0.05. Results: A total of 82 patients participated in the present study. Total of 45.1% participants were found to have subnormal MPOD using macular densitometer. Prevalence was least among <30 years of age (nil) and maximum after 50 years (58.8%) (p<0.05). Trends revealed that subnormal MPOD was more frequent among smokers (p=0.13), vegetarians (p=0.38) and those who were malnourished (under or over weight) (p=0.15), though not found to be statistically significant. Non-modifiable risk factors, an inverse relationship was observed between age and MPOD levels. Conclusion: The study noted associations between subnormal MPOD and multiple risk factors, several of which are modifiable factors. These modifiable risk factors included smoking and malnourishment.