Low blood pressure tied to risk of open-angle glaucoma: Study

USA: In a national longitudinal electronic health records database, a new study found that low blood pressure is associated with an increased risk of developing open-angle glaucoma (OAG). They also found no evidence to support a difference between medically treated and untreated low blood pressure. This study was conducted by Eric B. Lee BS and team with the aim to assess the relationship between blood pressure, blood pressure medications, and glaucoma using the All of Us Research Program database. The findings of this study were published in the Ophthalmology journal on 22nd October 2021.

It was a retrospective, longitudinal cohort study that makes use of the National Institute of Health's national electronic health records database. The study included eye patients in the All of Us Research Program database who had at least fifteen months of follow-up and one blood pressure (BP) measurement. Cox regression models, both univariable and multivariable, predicted the risk of developing incident open angle glaucoma (OAG). To account for changes over time, mean arterial pressure (MAP) and the number of BP medication classes were entered as time-varying predictors.