Abstract:
Long-term exposure to ultraviolet radiation is a risk factor for age-related macular degeneration (AMD); impaired retinal pigmented epithelium function, which is the leading cause of vision loss.
Purpose to compare the macular pigment optical density (MPOD) of people with and without melasma
Methods, Settings, and Design this comparative study was to compare the MPOD of 47 women with melasma (the study group) with the MPOD of 47 women with non-melasma (control group). There were 94 Thai women between the ages of 35 and 50 participated in evaluating their MPOD values assessing by the Macular Pigment Screener (MPS II). None of the participants has had diabetic retinopathy nor diabetic macular edema and was not under carotenoid supplementation. The data was collected in Mae Fah Luang University Hospital in January 2019. The independent t-test was used to investigate the differences of the MPOD levels
Results the mean MPOD of women with melasma was 0.41 du. (SD = 0.159, min = 0.05- max = 0.86) whereas the mean MPOD of women with non-melasma was 0.49 du. (SD = 0.191, min = 0.14- max = 0.96). Women with melasma found having significantly lower levels of MPOD in their eye compared with women with non-melasma (p = 0.036).
Conclusion: People with melasma have had lower MPOD than that of people with non-melasma; as a result, people with melasma have highly susceptible risk leading to AMD. People with melasma should be advised to investigate their MPOD level earlier and received potential therapies that may prevent blindness resulting from AMD.