Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To examine the relation between age at menopause, and the risk of developing primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) in a prospective study among female nurses participating in the Nurses' Health Study. Methods: Eligible participants, 45,927 women, were free of POAG and cancer, reported being examined by an eye doctor and were followed from 1980 or from when they were post-menopausal and over 40 years of age to 1996. Menopausal status and type, age at menopause, history of hormone use and other potential determinates of POAG were assessed on biennial questionnaires beginning in 1976. We included in the analysis, a total of 195 self-reported glaucoma cases confirmed by medical chart review to have visual field loss attributable to POAG. We used proportional hazards models for multivariate relative risks of developing any POAG, and we also conducted seperate analyses for high tension glaucoma (defined as maximum IOP>21 mm Hg). Results: In multivariate analyses, we did not observe associations with either age at menopause or postmenopausal hormone use. Compared to women who turned menopausal on or after age 54, the relative risks [95% confidence interval] for POAG in women who turned menopausal at 50-53 years was 0.98 [0.61-1.57], at 45-49 years was 1.26 [0.77-2.06] and was 0.95 [0.51-1.79] for those under age 45. Compared to never users, the relative risk of POAG among current postmenopausal hormone therapy users was 0.86 [0.59-1.25]. These associations were not materially different for high-tension glaucoma only. Conclusions: We did not observe any important associations between age at menopause and postmenopausal hormone therapy use with POAG risk.
Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: ris • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: nat • aging