People with Glaucoma have higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease, study finds

A new research suggests that people with normal-tension glaucoma are at increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

The study, conducted in Taiwan, will be presented at the 126th annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology 2022.

Researchers analysed data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database collected over a 12-year period. They compared the incidence of Alzheimer’s in 15,317 people with normal-tension glaucoma and 61,268 age and gender-matched people without glaucoma.

After adjusting for diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease and stroke, researchers found that people with normal-tension glaucoma were 52 per cent more likely to develop Alzheimer’s compared to those without glaucoma.

Yu-Yen Chen, lead researcher of the study, said: “From a public health perspective, policy makers are encouraged to enforce Alzheimer’s screening for at-risk patients with normal-tension glaucoma and to provide more substantial and integrated care.”

What is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that damage the optic nerve, the tissue that connects the eye to the brain. The most common types of glaucoma involve abnormally high pressure inside the eye but normal-tension glaucoma, also known as low-tension glaucoma, is a form of glaucoma in which damage occurs to the optic nerve even though eye pressure is within the normal range.

Previous studies evaluating the link between Glaucoma and Alzheimer’s disease offer mixed results, but few studies focused only on normal-tension glaucoma.