Heavy drinkers and those who smoke tobacco are more likely to develop a specific eye disorder, which is the leading cause of blindness in the developed world, new research suggests.

Age-related maculopathy (ARM), also known as age-related macular degeneration, is an irreversible deterioration of the retina of the eye. It usually occurs in people over 50 years of age.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin in Madison conducted a 10-yeard study of the association between smoking and alcohol consumption and the long-term risk of ARM in more than 3,600 adults aged 43 to 86 years. Dr. Ronald Klein, the lead author of the study, said cigarettes and alcohol can both result in oxidative damage to the cells of the retina, contributing to the risk of ARM.

Some of the findings of the study include:

• Heavy drinkers, defined as those who consumed at least four drinks a day, were six times more likely to develop symptoms of late ARM.
  
  
• Those who reported that they were heavy drinkers in the past were more than twice as likely to develop late ARM.
  
  
• Current smokers were also more likely to develop ARM.
  

"Although these data do not permit us to provide definitive evidence regarding whether stopping smoking and heavy drinking will prevent the development of late age-related macular degeneration, patients should be advised not to smoke or drink heavily because of their significant known adverse affects on health," Dr. Kline concluded.

Antioxidant nutrients, such as vitamins A, C and E, zinc, beta-carotene and selenium, may help protect against the development of ARM, but research in the use of antioxidant supplements to prevent ARM has been inconclusive.