Study Finds Slower Rate of GA Progression in Asian vs. Caucasian Patients

A study showed that the lower proportion of patients with larger baseline GA area, multifocal disease and RPD in Asians compared to Caucasians directly contributes to their slower rate of GA progression. Photo: Wendy Harrison, OD, PhD. Click image to enlarge. Some characteristics of geographic atrophy (GA) in Asian individuals have been suggested to be different from those in Caucasian populations, and it is uncertain whether the available GA therapies will demonstrate comparable efficacy in Asian eyes. Careful phenotyping can also provide insights into potential therapeutic targets for Asian variants of GA, researchers from Singapore propose. In a recent study, the team sought to characterize the condition associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and its progression rates and they found that Asian patients demonstrated a slower rate of GA progression, and eyes exhibiting multiple high-risk features experienced significantly faster progression rates compared to those with fewer or no high-risk features. The findings were reported in Eye.This retrospective study evaluated 170 eyes of patients aged 50 and older with AMD-related GA using OCT to monitor disease progression. The cohort was predominantly Chinese (88.2%) with a mean age of 78.4 years; 42.9% were men.While Asian and Caucasian patients share similar GA risk factors, the study’s findings showed that Asian patients exhibit slower disease progression—0.98mm²/year compared to the 1.27mm²/year to 1.43mm²/year in Caucasians reported in a previous study. The risk factors associated with faster progression are bilateral disease, presence of reticular pseudodrusen, larger baseline GA area and multifocal disease. “Eyes with more than one high-risk feature exhibited a faster rate of GA progression compared to those with only one high-risk feature,” the authors wrote in their paper.The differences in rate of GA growth between Asian and Caucasian patients could be explained by underlying genetic and phenotypic variations, the researchers noted in their paper. Complement polymorphisms and age-related maculopathy susceptibility 2 have been associated with wet AMD susceptibility, and Asian cohorts have shown a lower overall prevalence and inconsistent levels of risk compared to Caucasians. “Although most of these genetic studies focused on associations with nAMD, it is possible that these differences may extend to GA,” the authors wrote in their paper. They also point out that Asian patients “present with fewer high-risk phenotypic features known to drive rapid GA growth. The lower proportion of patients with larger baseline GA area, multifocal disease and reticular pseudodrusen in Asians compared to Caucasians directly contributes to their slower rate of GA progression.”While both populations share similar risk factors, this study’s findings could alert clinicians to methods of identifying high-risk Asian patients and guiding future therapeutic strategies, the authors concluded.Click here for the journal source. Ibrahim FN, Fan KRP, Chan HH, et al. Clinical characteristics and progression rates of geographic atrophy in an Asian population from Singapore. Eye. March 10, 2026. [Epub ahead of print.]  This article was developed by the editorial staff in conjunction with experts in the field. In the process, AI may have been among the editorial tools used to meet the goals of human editors, who approved all content.