Sleep apnea linked with increased glaucoma risk

Wednesday, August 28 2013 | 00 h 00 min | News

Researchers in Taiwan have discovered that people with sleep apnea are far more likely to develop glaucoma compared to those without the sleep condition.

Conducted by researchers at Taipei Medical University, the retrospective study involved 1,012 people ages 40 and older who were diagnosed with sleep apnea sometime between 2001 and 2004, as well as 6,072 people without sleep apnea. They found that the people with obstructive sleep apnea had a 1.67 times higher risk of developing open-angle glaucoma in the five years after their initial sleep apnea diagnosis.

“We hope that this study encourages clinicians to alert obstructive sleep apnea patients of the associations between obstructive sleep apnea and open-angle glaucoma as a means of raising the issue and encouraging treatment of those who need it,” wrote the authors of the study, published in the journal Ophthalmology.   

The Canadian Ophthalmological Society recommends that at-risk patients, especially people with a family history of glaucoma, see an ophthalmologist every three years by age 40, every two years by age 50, and every year after the age of 60. 

Sources:

www.aao.org/newsroom/release/20130807.cfm

http://www.cos-sco.ca/information-sur-la-sante-visuelle/quand-consulter-un-ophtalmologiste/