Abstract
Purpose :
Glaucoma-related visual field impairment is associated with functional limitations, fall risk, and a reduced quality of life. Research suggests a connection between visual field defects and decreased levels of physical activity. Additionally, glaucoma diagnosis and symptoms may be linked to deteriorated sleep quality. The availability of wearable devices has opened new avenues for analyzing biometric data among glaucoma patients. This study aimed to compare biometric data on physical activity and sleep in individuals with and without glaucoma.
Methods :
This cross-sectional study identified 8,623 subjects with and without a diagnosis of glaucoma ≥ age 40 with Fitbit data from the All Of Us dataset (ver.7). Glaucoma subjects were excluded if diagnosed as “glaucoma suspect” or “borderline glaucoma.” Biometric data was accessed from each participant’s entire linked Fitbit record. Bivariate statistics and multivariable regression models were used to examine the relationship between glaucoma status and various metrics recorded by wearable devices, including activity counts, active minutes, calories expended, and sleep characteristics segmented by sleep stages.
Results :
Of the 8,623 subjects who met inclusion criteria, 224 (2.60%) had been diagnosed with glaucoma. Participants each had a mean (SD) 4.5 (2.3) years of Fitbit data. Compared to control subjects, those with glaucoma had lower average heart rate (74.3 vs 76.0 bpm; p < 0.01), daily active calorie expenditure (844.3 vs 951.1; p < 0.01), lightly active minutes (179.7 vs 199.8; p < 0.01), steps taken (7214.5 vs. 8330.0; p = 0.03), minutes in deep sleep (51.8 vs 56.4; p < 0.01), and minutes in REM sleep (70.4 vs 77.8; p < 0.01). Subjects did not significantly differ in terms of sedentary minutes, fairly active minutes, very active minutes, minutes asleep, minutes awake, minutes in light sleep, or minutes of restlessness per day (all p > 0.05). After adjusting models for age and gender, glaucoma diagnosis was associated with decreased REM sleep (β = -3.15, p = 0.02) and lightly active minutes per day (β = -9.58, p = 0.03).
Conclusions :
Glaucoma patients exhibited reduced physical activity and shorter deep and REM sleep duration relative to controls. Holistic care strategies and further research is essential to better understand the well-being of glaucoma patients, bridging the gap between eye health, lifestyle, and sleep management in this population.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.