Ocular hypertension in glaucoma patients is related to higher central corneal thickness: Study

USA: In a new study conducted by Kristi Y. Wu and her team it was shown that in glaucoma patients, greater intraocular pressure and ocular hypertension were related more to due to thicker central cornea than metabolic syndrome. The findings of this study were published in the Journal of Glaucoma.

Metabolic syndrome was linked to increased intraocular pressure and thicker central corneal tissue in glaucoma patients. Ocular hypertension was more prevalent in patients with metabolic syndrome. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate whether patients with metabolic syndrome are more likely to develop glaucoma and ocular hypertension. Glaucoma is also known as glaucomatous optic neuropathy.

For this study, Patients in Olmsted County, Minnesota, were classified as having metabolic syndrome based on diagnosis codes, laboratory values, and/or medication use that met three or more of the five standard criteria for diagnosing metabolic syndrome: systemic hypertension, hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and central adiposity defined by increased BMI.

Using diagnostic codes, patients with glaucoma, including primary open-angle, low tension, pigment dispersion, and pseudo-exfoliation, were identified. Individual glaucoma patients' charts were reviewed to collect visual acuity, visual field mean deviation, cup to disc ratio, intraocular pressure, central corneal thickness, retinal nerve fibre layer thickness, and intraocular pressure treatment. Patients with ocular hypertension were identified and assessed independently.

The key findings of this study were as follows:

1. Patients with glaucoma who had metabolic syndrome exhibited higher intraocular pressure and larger central corneal thickness than those who did not.

2. There was no longer a significant difference in intraocular pressure between groups after adjusting for central corneal thickness.

3. Metabolic syndrome was also linked to the diagnosis of ocular hypertension, and while central corneal thickness was larger in individuals with metabolic syndrome, the difference was not statistically significant.

In conclusion, Although patients with MetS are not at an elevated risk of glaucoma, their higher central corneal thickness, and other anatomic variables may enhance their chances of being diagnosed with ocular hypertension.

Reference:

Wu, K. Y., Hodge, D. O., White, L. J., McDonald, J., & Roddy, G. W. (2021). Association of Metabolic Syndrome With Glaucoma and Ocular Hypertension in a Midwest United States Population. In Journal of Glaucoma (Vol. 31, Issue 6, pp. e18–e31). Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). https://doi.org/10.1097/ijg.0000000000001968