Joo K, Mun YS, Park SJ, et al. - In this retrospective, observational cohort study, researchers examined the 10-year incidence of progression from intermediate to exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and identified genetic and environmental factors influencing this progression in the Korean population. A total of 632 eyes of 418 patients (age, ≥ 50 years) with intermediate AMD were enrolled. The incidence of exudative AMD was evaluated from color fundus photographs and optical coherence tomography images obtained at baseline and annual visits. Data reported that the cumulative incidence of progression to exudative AMD was 5.6%, 14.8% and 28.4% at 2, 5 and 10 years, respectively. The annual rate of progression from intermediate to exudative AMD in the Korean population is about 2.8%, which is equivalent to that in the case of Caucasians. A modifiable protective factor against exudative changes may be the intake of green tea.