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Heavy coffee consumption linked to exfoliation glaucoma
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There was a positive association between heavier consumption of coffee and risk of exfoliation glaucoma or exfoliation glaucoma suspect, according to a large prospective study.
“Compared with subjects who consumed zero cups of caffeinated coffee per day, consumption of three or more cups was associated with a 1.66-fold higher risk of [exfoliation glaucoma/exfoliation glaucoma suspect],” the study authors said. “In contrast, we observed essentially null associations with intake of decaffeinated coffee. We observed no material associations between intake of other caffeinated beverages such as caffeinated soda or tea or chocolate.”
The analysis examined 41,202 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and 78,977 women from the Nurses’ Health Study. The subjects were at least 40 years old, did not have glaucoma and reported undergoing eye exams from 1980 (nurses’ study) or 1986 (health professionals’ study) through 2008. Dietary intake data were collected in 1980, 1984 and 1986 for women and then every 4 years thereafter for all subjects through 2008.
Higher consumption of caffeinated coffee was adversely associated with risk of exfoliation glaucoma/exfoliation glaucoma suspect (P = .02). There was a trend toward greater risk of exfoliation glaucoma/exfoliation glaucoma suspect related to caffeine consumption of 500 mg/day or more compared with those who consumed less than 125 mg/day, but the trend was not statistically significant.
Strengths of the study included its size and follow-up rates over 26 years, along with repeated dietary and lifestyle risk factor assessments that allowed the investigators to minimize confounding bias. The study was limited because more than 90% of the study population was Caucasian and subjects underwent non-standardized eye exams.
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