Are Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Cataracts Related?

The general consensus is that cataracts and macular degeneration are not related and that they develop independently of one another. Numerous studies have looked at both, and the majority of these studies have not shown a relationship. Those studies that have shown any type of relationship have been contradictory, meaning one study has shown a relationship of one type of cataract and not another, and these findings have been completely reversed in other studies. When all of these data are pooled, it does not appear as if the two conditions are related; however, both are extremely common, and therefore patients commonly have both cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.