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Glaucoma associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease death
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Reported glaucoma is associated with an increased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality, according to results from a large study. Further associations between glaucoma and cancer were inconsistent, however, indicating glaucoma is more likely to be diagnosed in adults receiving health care because of other medical conditions, study authors note.
David J. Lee, PhD, and colleagues with the University of Miami School of Medicine analyzed data from 116,796 adults participating in the National Health Interview Survey. Participants were at least 18 years old at the time of enrollment. The main outcome measures were all-cause mortality and cardiovascular and cancer mortality.
Of the participants, 1,559 (1.3%) had reported glaucoma. Of those, 303 reported concurrent visual impairment. Additionally, mortality linkage identified 8,949 deaths; average follow-up was 7 years.
Participants with reported glaucoma but without reported visual impairment were at significantly increased risk of death relative to participants without reported glaucoma, regardless of visual impairment status.
Similar associations were found for participants with reported glaucoma and visual impairment vs. participants with no reported glaucoma. An increased risk of cardiovascular disease mortality was found for participants with reported glaucoma, regardless of visual impairment. Risk of mortality because of cancer increased only in participants with reported glaucoma and no visual impairment. The association was stronger when the mortality analysis was restricted to cancers amenable to early screening (such as breast, cervical, colon and prostate).
The study is published in Ophthalmology.