Abstract
Purpose :
To examine associations between use of cholesterol medications (CMs) and glaucoma in participants of the 2017-2022 National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Program (AoU) with hyperlipidemia.
Methods :
The study population included adult participants aged >= 40 years who had hyperlipidemia, with electronic health record (EHR) and medication data in AoU. Hyperlipidemia was defined by EHR data. The exposure of interest was use of CMs, which included statins, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors, bile acid sequestrants, fibrates, niacin, and omega-3 fatty acids. The outcome was the presence of glaucoma, which was defined by EHR data. Covariates included age, sex, race, level of education, income level, body mass index, smoking tobacco use, alcohol use, and history of diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and macular degeneration. Logistic regression modeling was used to examine the associations between use of CMs and glaucoma, adjusting for no or all study covariates.
Results :
The study population included 173,525 participants with hyperlipidemia, 8,967 (5.2%) of whom had a diagnosis of glaucoma and 59,362 (34.2%) of whom used CMs. Compared to participants without use of CMs, those who used CMs had increased odds of glaucoma in both unadjusted (odds ratio [OR] = 2.21, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.06, 2.38) and fully adjusted (OR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.37, 1.68) analyses.
Conclusions :
In participants of the 2017-2022 AoU with hyperlipidemia, use of CMs was associated with increased likelihood of a diagnosis of glaucoma. Further investigations are needed to examine associations between cardiovascular disease, its treatments, and the risk of glaucoma.
This abstract was presented at the 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in New Orleans, LA, April 23-27, 2023.