Twenty-Year Incidence of Macular Telangiectasia Type 2 and Associated Systemic Comorbidities in Olmsted County, Minnesota

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To identify the incidence and associated systemic and ocular risk factors of macular telangiectasia (MacTel) type 2 using a population-based study. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, patients with MacTel type 2 were identified using the Rochester Epidemiology Project. An age- and sex-matched 4:1 cohort of healthy control patients was created to identify systemic medical comorbidities, medications, and ophthalmic risk factors with MacTel type 2. RESULTS: Over a 20-year time period, 18 patients with MacTel type 2 were identified. The overall incidence was 0.0007% per year. Adjusting for the age and sex of the Caucasian population in the 2010 U.S. census, the overall incidence was 0.0008% (95% CI, 0.4-1.2) per year. There were significantly more MacTel type 2 patients with type 2 diabetes (P = .007), hyperlipidemia (P = .03), and hypertriglyceridemia (P = .004). CONCLUSION: The incidence of MacTel type 2 in Olmsted County, Minnesota, is 0.7 per 100,000 persons per year. These patients are more likely to have type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol. The use of aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may be protective factors. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2020;51:S35-S42.].