A major review by Singapore-based researchers finds that Asians may be just as likely to develop age-related macular degeneration (AMD) as Caucasians. Asians have long been considered at low risk for AMD, a leading cause of vision loss in older Caucasians. Since the elderly population is growing in Asia, health systems there–like those in the West–need to prepare for an onslaught of AMD.

By analyzing populations in Japan, China, South Korea, India and Singapore the researchers found that rates of both early and late-stage AMD are comparable to Caucasians in the United States and European countries. Asian men are more likely than whites, and much more likely than Asian women, to have late-stage AMD. The fact that smoking is very popular among Asian men may be one reason for this, the researchers say, since smoking is a top AMD risk factor.

Many of the Asian men with late AMD had a particular subtype of the "wet" form of the disease. The subtype may be harder to control using current drugs– a cause for concern, because it is "wet" AMD that most often causes blindness.