Increased mortality linked with timolol-treated OAG among black patients, study finds

Cardiovascular mortality rates significantly increase among black individuals who are treated with timolol maleate for open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension, according to a new analysis of data from the Barbados Eye Studies.

"The excess mortality associated with timolol maleate treatment of [open-angle glaucoma], also found in a white population, warrants further investigation," the study authors said.

Suh-Yuh Wu, MA, and colleagues reviewed clinical data and optic disc photographs for 4,092 black participants who ranged in age from 40 years to 84 years at baseline.

After 9 years of follow-up, 764 (19%) participants had died.

After adjusting for confounders, no relationship was found between mortality and open-angle glaucoma (OAG) among 300 participants who had OAG at baseline.

Cardiovascular mortality tended to increase among 141 participants who had been previously diagnosed and treated for OAG (P = .07). However, such mortality was significantly higher among patients treated with timolol maleate, with a relative risk of 1.91 (P = .04), the authors reported.

The risk for cardiovascular mortality also tended to increase among 498 participants who had ocular hypertension at baseline, (P = .06), according to the study, published in the March issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.