ISLAMABAD, FEB 07 (ONLINE): There are a number of risk factors for glaucoma, including cardiovascular disease.
\nA new study has found that older adults with too much \u201cgood\u201d HDL cholesterol may be at a higher risk of developing glaucoma.
\nOn the flip side, researchers found that people with higher levels of \u201cbad\u201d LDL cholesterol tended to have a lower risk of developing this eye disease.
\nResearchers estimate that about 80 million people globally live with glaucoma \u2014 an eye condition affecting the optic nerveTrusted Source, resulting in vision loss and possibly blindness, for which there is currently no cure.<\/p>\n
Glaucoma is known as \u201cthe silent thief of sight\u201d because many times there are no symptoms in the earliest stage of the disease, making it hard to detect.<\/p>\n
There are a number of risk factors for glaucoma, including geneticsTrusted Source, ageTrusted Source, and ethnicity, as well as health conditions such as diabetes, migraineTrusted Source, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular diseaseTrusted Source.<\/p>\n
Now, a new study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology says older adults with too much \u201cgood\u201d HDL cholesterol may be at a higher risk of developing glaucoma.<\/p>\n
Conversely, researchers found that people with higher levels of \u201cbad\u201d LDL cholesterol tended to have a lower risk of developing the eye condition.<\/p>\n
High \u2018bad\u2019 cholesterol linked to lower glaucoma risk
\nFor this study, researchers analyzed medical data from more than 400,000 participants between the ages of 40 to 69 in the U.K. Biobank Study.<\/p>\n
Participants had the amount of fats in their blood measured, and their health was tracked for an average of 14 years.<\/p>\n
Upon analysis, researchers found that study participants with higher amounts of HDL cholesterol in their blood had an increased risk of developing glaucoma.<\/p>\n
Scientists reported that participants with the highest levels of HDL cholesterol were 10% more likely to develop glaucoma than those at the lowest levels.<\/p>\n
On the other side, researchers discovered study participants with increased amounts of LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglycerides \u2014 a type of fat in the blood \u2014 were at a reduced risk for glaucoma.<\/p>\n
Scientists found that participants with the highest levels of LDL cholesterol were 8% less likely to develop glaucoma than those with lower levels. That percentage rose to 14% less likely for those with the leading amounts of triglycerides.<\/p>\n
The researchers did state that these observations continued among participants older than 55, and no significant association was noticed in those aged 40 to 55.<\/p>\n
Understanding risk factors for glaucoma
\nMedical News Today had the chance to speak with Alexander Solomon, MD, a neuro-ophthalmologist and strabismus surgeon of Pacific Neuroscience Institute at Providence Saint John\u2019s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, about this study and the importance of finding health concerns that may increase a person\u2019s glaucoma risk.<\/p>\n
\u201cGlaucoma is the second most common cause of blindness, and unlike cataracts, which are the most common, it is irreversible,\u201d Solomon explained. \u201cBecause all forms of glaucoma typically impact a patient\u2019s peripheral vision first, a patient may have glaucoma for years before they are symptomatic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTreatments for glaucoma are directed at slowing disease progression, so catching it and stopping it in its early stages before it becomes symptomatic is key,\u201d Solomon continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cKnowing health concerns that could increase someone\u2019s risk may help direct us to screening patients sooner or more frequently to catch them before the disease really affects their vision. Similarly better understanding risk factors for glaucoma may help us elucidate some of the more mysterious mechanisms of glaucoma, which can occur and progress seemingly independent of elevated intraocular pressure, which is its most classically associated risk factor.\u201d
\n\u2014 Alexander Solomon, MD<\/p>\n
Take caution around research results
\nSolomon also said that he would take the results of this study with quite a bit of caution because of their determination of the status of their two main associated factors\u2014the definition of glaucoma and participants\u2019 lipid levels, which were determined from a single non-fasting blood sample at the beginning of the study.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe definition of glaucoma here is somewhat suspect, as it must be when you\u2019re using a database rather than directly recruiting or interacting with patients,\u201d Solomon explained. \u201cIt relies on self-reported data and hospital inpatient diagnoses \u2014 which may be heavily influenced by self-reporting, given glaucoma would rarely play a significant role in hospital treatment or care \u2014 but does not necessitate an ophthalmologist confirming the diagnosis of glaucoma, which would be invaluable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c(And) these lipid levels can vary by what was recently eaten from day to day, hence why fasting labs are more valuable, let alone long term with treatment or lifestyle changes,\u201d he continued. \u201cSimply categorizing people by a single non-fasting test feels like it misses the point of whether or not certain lipid levels increase risk for glaucoma, which is a disease that develops slowly over time in most cases.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs stated, this study poses an interesting possibility, but leaves many concerns unanswered. I\u2019d like to see a more stringent study done that actually used ophthalmologists to help define specific glaucoma subtypes and severity and followed fasting lipid levels over time as this would be a much stronger correlation.\u201d
\n\u2014 Alexander Solomon, MD<\/p>\n
Clinical trial needed to confirm findings
\nMNT also spoke with Yu-Ming Ni, MD, a board certified cardiologist and lipidologist at MemorialCare Heart and Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, about this study, who commented he was surprised by its findings.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first glance, higher lipids should be associated with worse outcomes overall, including higher rates of glaucoma,\u201d Ni explained. \u201cI would think that more good cholesterol (i.e. HDL-C) would be associated with lower rates of glaucoma, and more bad cholesterol (i.e. LDL-C) associated with higher rates of glaucoma. But this was not the case with this study and another large cross-sectional study mentioned in the introduction of the paper.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven that the mechanism by which higher HDL may be associated with higher glaucoma risk is unknown, I suspect this finding may be confounded by other factors. It is also known that both too high and too low HDL-C are associated with higher rates of heart disease. In other words, there is such a thing as too much good cholesterol.\u201d
\n\u2014 Yu-Ming Ni, MD<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, the only way to determine if good cholesterol is truly associated with higher rates of glaucoma is to do a clinical trial,\u201d Ni said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can study a therapy that lowers HDL-C and assess if glaucoma rates are lower. I suspect this type of study will never be done because of the fear of higher rates of heart disease. But it would be wrong to assume that higher HDL would increase your risk of glaucoma without knowing the mechanism or understanding confounding risk factors. Therefore, I\u2019m not making a big deal out of this study, and I will continue to council patients that the ideal HDL-C is about 50-60 for men and 60-70 for women,\u201d\u00a0he\u00a0said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD, FEB 07 (ONLINE): There are a number of risk factors for glaucoma, including cardiovascular disease. A new study has found that older adults with too much \u201cgood\u201d HDL cholesterol may be at a higher risk of developing glaucoma. On the flip side, researchers found […]<\/p>\n
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