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Posted on Jul 25, 2011, 6 a.m.
Netherlands team reports that people who are nearsighted may be nearly twice as likely to develop glaucoma.
A leading cause of blindness, glaucoma affects more than two million Americans over the age of 40. Nomdo Jansonius from the University Medical Center Groningen (The Netherlands), and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of 11 previous studies that included tens of thousands of subjects, tracking who was nearsighted and had glaucoma. Overall, the team found that nearsighted people were about 90% more likely to also develop open-angle glaucoma, with those who had higher levels of myopia appearing to be at higher risk of glaucoma as well. These findings suggest that persons with high myopia may wish to undergo regular ophthalmic examination including glaucoma screening.
Michael W. Marcus, Margriet M. de Vries, Francisco G. Junoy Montolio, Nomdo M. Jansonius. “Myopia as a Risk Factor for Open-Angle Glaucoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Ophthalmology, June 20, 2011.
