Abstract
Purpose :
To examine associations between type of exercise and glaucoma in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) population.
Methods :
The study population included 2005-2006 adult participants of the NHANES. Exercise level was measured by pedometers and self report. Exercise type was measured by reported frequency and duration of participation in 47 sports, which were categorized into high-intensity non-contact sports, low-intensity non-contact sports, contact sports, and sports with Valsalva (Table 1). Glaucoma was defined as 2+ abnormal points on visual fields and cup-to-disc ratio or asymmetry ≥97.5% of the NHANES population. Covariates included age, ethnicity, body mass index, and blood pressure. Logistic regression modeling was used to examine the associations between level and type of exercise and glaucoma in the study population, adjusting for all study covariates. Analyses were weighted using NHANES multistage sampling design.
Results :
The study population included 70,246,160 weighted participants, of whom 2,178,421 (3.1%) had glaucoma. Glaucoma risk decreased by 5% for each 10-unit increase in pedometer intensity (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=0.95, 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.93, 0.98), and subjects with the highest versus lowest self-reported activity level had 76% decreased risk of glaucoma (aOR=0.24, 95% CI=0.08, 0.77). There were no significant associations between participating in high-intensity non-contact sports (aOR=0.51, 95% CI=0.19, 1.36), low-intensity non-contact sports (aOR=2.48, 95% CI=0.74, 8.35), contact sports (aOR=0.34, 95% CI=0.10, 1.14), or sports with Valsalva (aOR=0.25, 95% CI=0.06, 1.06) and glaucoma. When adjusted only for demographics, increased duration of contact sports was associated with increased glaucoma risk (aOR=1.07, 95% CI=1.00, 1.16 per 10-minute increase per week) while increased metabolic intensity level (MET) for contact sports was associated with decreased glaucoma risk (aOR=0.85, 95% CI=0.72, 0.99 per 1-unit MET increase).
Conclusions :
Increased exercise level and contact sports with high metabolic intensity may be associated with decreased glaucoma risk in NHANES, but increased duration of contact sports may be associated with increased risk. This suggests that the association between exercise and glaucoma is complex and mediated by multiple factors.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.