Diabetes and Hypertension Increase Glaucoma Risk

ANN ARBOR, Mich., August 2011 — People with diabetes and/or hypertension are more likely to develop open-angle glaucoma (OAG) as well.

This finding is from a University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center study of billing records of more than 2 million people 40 and older who were enrolled in a managed care network and who visited an eye care professional at least once from 2001 to 2007.

The diabetics in the group had a 35 percent increased risk for OAG, while those with hypertension alone had a 17 percent increased risk. The increased risk was 48 percent for people with both diabetes and hypertension.

The study was funded by the National Eye Institute, and the report appeared online in July in the journal Ophthalmology.