ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Endocrinology of Aging
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1635739
This article is part of the Research TopicVitamin D and Aging: Associations with Mortality, Cognition, Chronic Diseases, and Metabolic Conditions in Elderly IndividualsView all 3 articles
Association of Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels with Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Its Clinical Correlates: A Cross-Sectional Study
Provisionally accepted
- 1Tianjin Key Lab of Ophthalmology and Visual Science), Tianjin Eye Hospital, Tianjin, China
- 2University of Miami Health System Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miami, United States
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Introduction: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of irreversible vision loss in older adults, with significant inter-individual variability in clinical progression. Vitamin D, known for its role in calcium homeostasis and anti-inflammatory pathways, may be implicated in AMD pathogenesis. This study aimed to investigate serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels in AMD patients and their association with clinical phenotypes. Methods:This single-center, cross-sectional observational study was conducted at Tianjin Eye Hospital, China, involving 210 participants (100 AMD patients and 110 healthy controls). Exclusion criteria included conditions affecting vitamin D metabolism and recent vitamin D supplementation. Comprehensive ophthalmic assessments and laboratory tests were performed. Data were analyzed using R software, employing Student's t-tests, ANONA, chi-squared tests,Pearson correlation and linear regression models. Results:AMD patients exhibited significantly lower serum 25(OH)D levels than controls (22.98±7.30 ng/mL vs. 26.12±9.81 ng/mL, p=0.013). Within the AMD group, late-stage patients had lower 25(OH)D levels than early-stage patients (22.53±8.14 ng/mL vs. 23.46±6.36 ng/mL, p=0.019) and higher CRP levels (0.31±0.19 mg/L vs. 0.17±0.05 mg/L, p=0.015). ROC curve analysis indicated moderate diagnostic utility of 25(OH)D for distinguishing AMD patients from controls (AUC=0.714, 95% CI: 0.58-0.73, p<0.01), but limited ability to differentiate early vs. late-stage AMD Linear regression analysis revealed positive associations between 25(OH)D levels and apolipoprotein E (ApoE, β=0.157, p=0.04) and serum creatinine (β=0.18, p=0.02).This study provides evidence linking lower serum 25(OH)D levels to the presence and severity of AMD, particularly in late-stage disease.Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in older adults,is characterized by heterogeneous progression-from early drusen formation and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) dysfunction to advanced stages of geographic atrophy (GA) or choroidal neovascularization (CNV)(1). The clinical progression of AMD varies significantly across but not for differentiating early vs. late-stage AMD (AUC=0.481, 95% CI: 0.41-0.63, p=0.058).
Keywords: age-related macular degeneration (AMD), 25-hydroxyvitamin D, calcium homeostasis, biomarker, Vitamin D Deficiency
Received: 27 May 2025; Accepted: 17 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liang, Wang, Zhang and Zheng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xu Liang, Tianjin Key Lab of Ophthalmology and Visual Science), Tianjin Eye Hospital, Tianjin, China
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