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So says a study in the November issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.

The University of California, San Diego study included 231 people with advanced AMD. Their ages ranged from 60 to 99, and their average age was almost 81.

They were randomly divided into three groups, with 86 people in the self-management program. The other groups included 74 people who were given tape-recorded health lectures that they listened to on their own time, and 71 people in a control group.

The people in the six-week self-management program took part in weekly, two-hour group sessions that provided them with information and support and enhanced their problem-solving skills.

The sessions included frank discussions about AMD and how the individuals were affected by the disease. Participants were provided with the latest information about AMD and given problem-solving projects for them to do at home to increase their confidence.

Other topics included barriers and strategies for surmounting those barriers, communication and transportation techniques, and self-sufficiency skills.

After completing the course, test scores showed the people in the self-management program had improved quality of life. It also found that those who had measurable depression at the start of the program had marked improvement in their mood and function.

The study results suggest the need to test this type of program in a larger group of people with AMD, the researchers say.

AMD is an incurable disease that affects about one in five people over the age of 65. It's the most common cause of vision loss in older adults. AMD is caused by cell degeneration, and sometimes by blood vessel leakage, in the macula. That's the area of the retina responsible for central vision.

More information

The U.S. National Eye Institute has more about age-related macular degeneration.