Statin Use Linked to Higher Glaucoma Risk, Especially in Older Adults and Those with Elevated LDL-C Levels: Study

"Findings suggest that statin use may be an independent risk factor for glaucoma, which may be affected by one’s lipid profile and age." 

High levels of lipids and LDL-C increase the risk of having coronary artery disease, heart attack, and stroke. Statins are first-line drugs given in cases of hyperlipidemia and high LDL-C levels which also pose the risk of having glaucoma thereby damaging the optic nerve.

Against the above background, researcher Samuel Y. Lee, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA USA, and collogues investigated the association between statin use and glaucoma in the 2017-2022 ALL of Us research program.

From the electronic health record (EHR) data in the AoU database, 79,742 adult participants aged ≥ 40 years with hyperlipidemia were selected. Hyperlipidemia, glaucoma status, and statin use were defined by diagnoses and medication information in EHR data collected by AoU.

The association between statin use and glaucoma likelihood was evaluated by Logistic regression analysis and also to examine associations between glaucoma and all covariates included in the adjusted analysis.

The severity of hyperlipidemia was assessed using serum LDL-C level. Analyses stratified by LDL-C level and age were performed.

The study revealed the following findings:

• 6,365 (8.0%) statin users were identified out of 79,742 individuals with hyperlipidemia in AoU.
• Statin use was found to be associated with increased glaucoma prevalence when compared with statin non-use (adjusted odds ratio [aOR])
• Higher serum levels of LDL-C were associated with increased odds of glaucoma (aOR: 1.003)
• Significantly higher LDL-C levels were found in statin users as compared to nonusers (144.9 mg/dL versus 136.3 mg/dL)
• Analysis stratified by LDL-C identified positive associations between statin use and prevalence of glaucoma among those with optimal (aOR = 1.39) and high LDL-C levels. (aOR = 1.37).
• positive association between statin use and prevalence of glaucoma in individuals aged 60-69 years (aOR = 1.28) as identified by Age-stratified analysis.

“Statins pose an increased risk of glaucoma with potential influences from an individual's lipid profile and age,” said the researcher

Reference: Lee, S. Y., Paul, M. E., Coleman, A. L., Kitayama, K., Yu, F., Pan, D., & Tseng, V. L. (2024). Associations between Statin Use and Glaucoma in the All of Us Research Program. Ophthalmology Glaucoma.