Statins linked to lower glaucoma risk in observational study

Statin use was associated with a lower five-year rate of open-angle glaucoma diagnoses and less need for additional treatment among people with glaucoma in a large observational study, but researchers said the findings do not show that the cholesterol-lowering drugs prevent or slow the eye disease. The study, published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, compared health records for 210,701 matched patients in an analysis of glaucoma incidence. At five years, 2.3% of those taking statins had developed open-angle glaucoma, compared with 2.6% of those with no recorded statin use. The researchers described the difference as a 15% lower risk associated with statin use. A separate analysis examined treatment escalation among people with glaucoma. Over five years, statin use was associated with a 36% lower risk of incisional glaucoma surgery, a 55% lower risk of minimally invasive glaucoma surgery and a 60% lower risk of laser trabeculoplasty. Statin users also had a 12% lower risk of being prescribed additional pressure-lowering eye drops. The published study abstract reports 29,598 patients in this treatment analysis.