Having Retinitis Pigmentosa May Increase Risk of Glaucoma

Wednesday, January 11 2023 | 11 h 03 min | Vision Science

A new study from Taiwan, published in the Journal of Ophthalmology reported that patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) have greater risk of developing the most common form of glaucoma, primary open-angle glaucoma, than those without RP.

This was a retrospective study using data from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database. More than 6,000 patients with RP were identified and they were compared to almost 25,000 patients without RP.

Over the study period, 1.6% of individuals with RP were diagnosed with glaucoma compared to 0.8% of individuals without RP. This study strengthens the case for regular eye exams. It also highlights the importance for clinicians to pay close attention to signs of glaucoma development in patients with RP in order to diagnose and treat the disease as early as possible.