Refractive errors associated with ocular hypertension, glaucoma

MADISON, Wisc. — Myopia was associated with an increased prevalence of glaucoma in a 5-year report from the Beaver Dam Eye Study. Surprisingly, the same study found an apparent association between hyperopia and a 5-year risk of ocular hypertension, according to the study authors.

Tien Yin Wong, MD, PhD, and colleagues here at the University of Wisconsin analyzed data from the Beaver Dam Eye Study, a population-based study in a defined white population, at the 5-year follow-up. The study authors measured intraocular pressure and glaucoma at baseline and IOP and ocular hypertension at the follow-up.

At 5 years after baseline, people with hyperopia were 40% more likely to have incident ocular hypertension than people without refractive errors. People with myopia were 60% more likely to have glaucoma than those without refractive error.

The authors state they have "no adequate explanation" for the association between hyperopia and ocular hypertension. They note that hyperopia has been associated with primary angle-closure glaucoma, although this condition is rare in whites.

The study is published in the January issue of Ophthalmology.