Alcohol abstinence reduces severity of visual impairment in newly diagnosed open-angle glaucoma cases

This study published in JAMA Network Open found that OAG patients who abstained from alcohol had a lower risk of developing severe vision impairment or blindness. These results imply that lifestyle modifications, including alcohol abstinence, may be vital for individuals newly diagnosed with OAG.

In this study of 13,643 newly diagnosed OAG cases, abstinence from alcohol post-diagnosis was associated with a significantly lower risk of severe visual impairment or blindness compared to sustained drinkers.

The study's main objective was to evaluate the association between alcohol consumption status and risk of incident severe visual impairment (VI) or blindness in newly diagnosed OAG cases.

This retrospective cohort study included patients newly diagnosed with OAG between 2010 and 2011 and who had been alcohol drinkers before their diagnosis. The cohort was followed until 2020, with data analysis conducted from 2022. The patients were divided into two groups based on their post-diagnosis alcohol consumption: sustainers and abstainers. The risk of severe vision loss or blindness was compared between the two groups using weighted Cox proportional hazards regression with inverse probability of treatment weighting.

Key findings from the study are:

· Among 13 643 patients with newly diagnosed OAG of mean age 53 years who were drinkers, 2866 constituting 21.0% quit drinking following diagnosis.

· During 91 366 person-years of follow-up, patients abstaining from alcohol after their OAG diagnosis had a lower risk of severe VI or blindness compared to sustained drinkers with an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.63.

· Among the sustained drinkers, both mild consumption and moderate to heavy consumption after OAG diagnosis was associated with a higher risk of severe VI or blindness.

· There was an association between frequent drinking and a higher risk of severe VI or blindness with an AHR of 2.56.

The study highlights an important consideration that lifestyle interventions, such as alcohol abstinence, are essential for patients who are newly diagnosed with OAG.

Reference:

Jeong Y, Kim SH, Kang G, Yoon H, Kim YK, Ha A. Visual Impairment Risk After Alcohol Abstinence in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Open-Angle Glaucoma. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(10):e2338526. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.38526