Effect of statins on the age of onset of age-related macular degeneration

Background This study evaluated the relationship between statin use and the age of onset of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods Electronic Health Records from 52,840 patients evaluated at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Ophthalmology Clinics and 9,977 patients evaluated at University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Ophthalmology Clinics were screened. Survival analysis was performed using Cox proportional hazards regression models and visualized using Kaplan Meier survival curves, with the following covariates—sex, ethnicity, smoking history, fluoxetine use, obesity, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. Results 5,498 of 52,840 patients at UCLA were diagnosed with AMD. Statin use was associated with a later AMD onset (HR = 0.8823, p