Study finds Glaucoma associated with poor sleep quality

Friday, May 1 2015 | 00 h 00 min | Vision Science

A study conducted by researchers at  the Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil, found that the retinal cell death associated with glaucoma negatively affects more than visual functions; non-image forming functions such as sleep are also affected.

The 45 participants in the study, 32 diagnosed with glaucoma and 13 healthy patients, had pupillary reflexes and pupillary diameter measured. Participants also underwent polysomnography and optical coherence tomography with a Cirrus HD-OCT from Carl Zeiss Meditech.

The patients with glaucoma had significantly more limb movements, woke up more often and had lower sleep efficiency, which is a measure of how much time lying down with the light off is actually spent asleep. Patients with glaucoma on average got less sleep than healthy patients.

“Circadian function has not been well investigated in clinical daily practice, but it can interfere with the quality of life in these patients. Concerns about sleep disturbances in patients with glaucoma should be incorporated into clinical evaluations,” concludes Dr. Carolina Gracitelli, lead author of the study.

Further information: http://www.healio.com/optometry/glaucoma/news/online/%7B985e9cc5-dd17-499d-bf63-2737c06dcfae%7D/glaucoma-associated-with-poor-sleep-quality