This AMD Risk Calculator is intended for use by an eye doctor. The calculator predicts the likelihood of an individual developing advanced age-related macular degeneration (geographic atrophy [GA] or neovascular AMD [NV]) over a period of 2 to 10 years. It is designed for individuals between the ages of 55 and 80 years without advanced AMD in either eye, or with advanced AMD in only one eye. For individuals older than 80 years of age, a conservative risk estimate could be obtained by entering 80 years. The Calculator may not be used for individuals with advanced AMD in both eyes.

These risk estimates apply to groups of patients with specified characteristics. They cannot be used to determine if or when an individual patient will develop advanced AMD, but rather provide an estimate of the proportion of patients sharing those characteristics who are likely to develop advanced AMD in the specified time interval.

Environment Factors (Required)

• Enter age: 55 to 80 years


• Enter personal history: (1) presence of a family history of AMD in first degree relatives, i.e. siblings or parents (yes/no); and (2) current cigarette smoker? (yes/no)

Retinal Examination (Required) - results of a recent evaluation performed by an eye doctor:

• Enter the simple scale score (0,1,2,3 or 4) – a grading of age-related changes in the macula of both eyes (0 to 4). The macula is defined as an area within 2 standard disc diameters of the center of the macula or fovea. The system uses 2 retinal abnormalities for determining a risk score:
  
  (1) 1 or more large drusen (≥125 µm in smallest diameter, approximately equivalent to the diameter of a major retinal vein crossing the optic disc margin), or
  
  (2) any definite pigment abnormality (hyper or hypopigmentation).
  
  
• A sum of these risk factors for both eyes results in a 5-step severity scale ranging from a grade of 0 (neither of the 2 risk factors in each eye) to 4 (both risk factors in each eye). If advanced AMD (NV or GA) is present in 1 eye, that eye is considered to have 2 risk factors. see reference
• Presence in either eye of very large drusen (>250 microns diameter, or twice the diameter of a large retinal vein at the optic disc margin)
• Presence and type of advanced AMD (GA or NV) in one eye

Genotype Information (Optional)

• Genetic analysis - The Calculator was designed for use with or without this information. If genotyping results are available for gene variants CFH (rs1061170) and ARMS2 (rs10490924), enter genotypes here (other genotypes associated with AMD were not significant following regression analysis). If genotypes are not available, a close approximation of AMD risk will be obtained.

Risk Calculation

• Enter number of years for which risk of advanced AMD is requested.
• Calculate Risk – for advanced AMD. Risk estimates may vary by + /- 1% to 12% (average = 6%).

Reference: Klein ML, Francis PJ, Ferris FL 3rd, Hamon SC, Clemons TE. Risk assessment model for development of advanced age-related macular degeneration. Arch Ophthalmol. 2011 Dec;129(12):1543-50. Epub 2011 Aug 8.