Effect of blue-light filtering intraocular lenses on age-related macular degeneration
Reviewed by Anna Song

This is a retrospective cohort study evaluating whether blue-light filtering (BLF) intraocular lenses (IOL) offer prophylaxis for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). The study included 11,397 eyes of 11,397 patients with a mean age of 75.4 ±8.3 years that underwent uneventful cataract surgery. Of those, 47.6% received a BLF IOL and 52.4% received a non-BLF IOL. The mean follow-up time was 52.7 ±32.1 months. The primary outcome measure was nAMD-free survival, with secondary outcomes including best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central subfield macular thickness, treatment interval and total number of intravitreal injections administered by one year after nAMD was diagnosed. New-onset of nAMD after a postoperative period of 12 months was similar in both the BLF (n=88) and the non-BLF (n=76) groups. The nAMD-free survival rates between the two groups was similar and any differences were not statistically significant. All secondary outcomes were not found to be statistically significant. The authors conclude that the use of BLF IOL did not result in an apparent advantage over non-BLF IOL in terms of incidence, progression and severity of nAMD. Perhaps a longer follow-up period may be beneficial in revealing the impacts of long-term outcomes such as severity.

The effect of blue-light filtering intraocular lenses on the development and progression of neovascular age-related macular degeneration.
Achiron A, Elbaz U, Hecht I, et al.
OPHTHALMOLOGY
2021;128:410-6.