Abstract
Purpose: :
To determine whether use of statin drugs and/or aspirin affects the rate of open–angle glaucoma (OAG) progression.
Methods: :
We performed a retrospective chart review of 315 patients with OAG at the University of California, San Francisco and the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Subjects included patients with OAG who used statins or aspirin for greater than 23 months during the periods when visual fields were performed. Control patients were those with OAG who had never used statins or aspirin or who had used them for less than 23 months. The change in mean deviation and pattern standard deviation in visual field testing was compared between the two groups.
Results: :
There was no statistically significant difference in the average change in mean deviation per year between the groups using statin drugs and/or aspirin (–0.0476 decibels/year for statins only, p =.3812; –0.1338 for statins plus aspirin, p = 0.3658; and 0.3381 for aspirin only, p = 0.7382) and the control group (0.2774 decibels/year, overall p–value .59). Change per year for PSD was also not significantly different between the groups.
Conclusions: :
Prolonged use of statin drugs, aspirin, or a combination thereof does not appear to significantly alter the progression of open–angle glaucoma. There appears to be a possible trend toward a protective effect of the statin/aspirin combination, but this requires confirmation in a prospective controlled trial.
Keywords: visual fields • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: risk factor assessment • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: outcomes/complications