Study Finds Link Between Osteoporosis and AMD in Women

Researchers believe the link between osteoporosis and AMD could be due to various shared etiological factors, namely genetic, environmental or metabolic influences. The stronger correlation observed in women may be attributed to the decrease in estrogen levels as they age, as the hormone is shown to exert a protective effect against AMD progression. Photo: Cleveland Clinic. Click image to enlarge. Previous studies have indicated potential shared etiological factors between age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and osteoporosis, such as systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, insufficient calcium intake and vitamin D deficiency. Piggybacking off this research, the authors of a new study aimed to test their hypothesis that AMD is associated with low bone mineral density (BMD), a hallmark of osteoporosis. Their findings revealed a link between low BMD and all stages of AMD in women, though there was no correlation between the two age-related conditions in men. The study used a cross-sectional design, leveraging data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2005 to 2008. A total of 4,550 participants aged 40 and older were included. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was employed to assess BMD, and fundus photography was used to evaluate AMD status. To elucidate both linear and non-linear relationships between the two conditions, the researchers applied various analytical methods to account for a range of confounding variables, such as age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, smoking habits and pre-existing health issues like diabetes or hypertension.The results illuminated a significant association between low BMD and the increased incidence of AMD, particularly among women. Specifically, women diagnosed with osteoporosis exhibited an odds ratio of 2.25 for any form of AMD and an alarming 4.25 for severe, late-stage AMD when compared to those with normal bone density. This indicates that women with osteoporosis are over twice as likely to have any form of AMD and four times as likely to experience the more severe late-stage form of AMD. In men, the association between osteoporosis and all AMD types was not statistically significant (odds ratio: 1.68).Notably, in women, the analysis showed a stronger correlation between femoral osteoporosis and AMD compared to that of spinal and lumbar osteoporosis. For each unit increase in total femoral BMD, there was a corresponding decrease of 0.08 in the total incidence of AMD in women, signifying a protective effect associated with higher bone density.In their paper on the study, published in Scientific Reports, the authors proposed that estrogen levels might explain the pronounced correlation between AMD and low BMD in women. “In females,” they wrote, “estrogen plays a pivotal role in bone remodeling. The influence of estrogen significantly enhances calcium absorption in the duodenum, which may explain the significant correlation between the decline in estrogen levels in postmenopausal women and the increased prevalence of osteoporosis.” It’s also known that estrogen is closely connected to the development of AMD, the researchers pointed out, as the hormone “modulates several signaling pathways associated with AMD development and exerts protective effects against the progression of AMD.”Subgroup analyses additionally indicated that Mexican American women with low BMD faced an even stronger correlation, with an odds ratio of 3.52 for AMD compared to non-Hispanic white women, who had an odds ratio of 1.86. Furthermore, individuals who had never smoked or consumed alcohol exhibited lower odds ratio values, suggesting that maintaining healthy lifestyle habits may help decrease the risk of developing AMD.In summary, the authors note that while these findings indicate a significant link between osteoporosis in women and an increased risk of AMD, further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms behind this relationship, as both conditions may share certain genetic, environmental or metabolic factors. “Investigating their associations could lead to the identification of novel pathogenic genes, signaling pathways or biomarkers, thereby providing new insights and directions for elucidating the mechanisms underlying AMD,” they concluded.Click here for the journal source. Long H, Ochoa Hernández M, Dong XX, et al. Association between osteoporosis and age-related macular degeneration: a cross-sectional study using data from NHANES. Sci Rep. 2025;15:29045. 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.