Abstract
Purpose:
To investigate the role of systemic arterial stiffness in open-angle glaucoma (OAG) with/without diabetes mellitus (DM).
Methods:
Subjects with abnormal optic disc were selected from those who underwent health checkups from January to November 2013 at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital. Medical records of those who additionally took tests for systemic arterial stiffness were analyzed retrospectively. One hundred and fifty-three glaucoma patients and 203 control subjects were enrolled in this study. All subjects were divided into 196 DM group [glaucoma : 67, control : 129] and 160 non-DM group [glaucoma : 86, control : 74]. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), a marker of systemic arterial stiffness, and pulse pressure which could indirectly reflect arterial stiffness were compared between glaucoma patients and controls in DM and non-DM groups. Intima media thickness (IMT) as indicator of atherosclerosis, ankle-brachial index (ABI), total cholesterol, triglyceride, body mass index(BMI), detailed eye examination including intraocular pressure, stereo disc photo, red free photo, Humphrey visual field, measurement of RNFL thickness with stratus OCT RNFL thickness were performed in all subjects.
Results:
The higher baPWV was positively associated with OAG (odds ratio [OR], 2.66;95% confidence interval [CI],1.23-5.75) in patients with DM. The higher pulse pressure showed significant relationship with OAG (OR, 6.72; 95% CI,2.62-17.23) in non-DM group. The intima media thickness, ABI, total cholesterol, triglyceride and BMI didn’t show significant association with OAG in both groups.
Conclusions:
In this study, increased arterial stiffness was associated with OAG (baPWV in DM patients, pulse pressure in non-DM patients). Our results suggest that systemic arterial stiffness may have a certain level of role in the development of glaucoma.
Keywords: 464 clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: risk factor assessment •
498 diabetes •
436 blood supply