rss
Br J Ophthalmol 2005;89:960-963 doi:10.1136/bjo.2004.053397
  • Clinical science
    • Scientific reports

Systemic hypertension and glaucoma: mechanisms in common and co-occurrence

  1. M J S Langman1,
  2. R J Lancashire2,
  3. K K Cheng2,
  4. P M Stewart1
  1. 1Department of Medicine, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
  2. 2Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
  1. Correspondence to: Professor M Langman Department of Medicine, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham B15 2TH, UK; m.j.s.langmanbham.ac.uk
  • Accepted 23 December 2004

Abstract

Aims: To determine whether systemic hypertension and glaucoma might coexist more often than expected, with possible implications for treatment.

Methods: Case-control study using general practitioner database of patients with glaucoma matched with controls for age and sex.

Results: Hypertension was significantly more common in the 27 080 patients with glaucoma (odds ratio 1.29, 95% confidence intervals 1.23 to 1.36, p<0.001) than in controls. Treatment by oral β blockade appeared to protect from risk (odds ratio 0.77, 95% CI 0.73 to 0.83, p<0.0001), but oral calcium channel antagonists or angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors did not (odds ratios 1.34, 1.24 to 1.44 and 1.16 1.09–1.24, respectively, p<0.0001 in each case). Oral corticosteroid treatment was associated with enhanced risk (odds ratio 1.78, 1.61 to 1.96).

Conclusion: Common pathogenetic mechanisms in ciliary and renal tubular epithelia may explain coincidence of glaucoma and systemic hypertension. The choice of cardiovascular treatment, could substantially influence glaucoma incidence, with β blockade protecting and ACE inhibitors or calcium channel blockers not affecting underlying risk.

Footnotes

  • Financial support from the Wellcome Trust is gratefully acknowledged. PMS was a Medical Research Council Senior Fellow.

  • Competing interests: none declared

  • Ethical approval was obtained from the ethics committee responsible for GPRD.

This Article

  1. Abstract
  2. Full text
  3. PDF

Responses

  1. Submit a response
  2. No responses published

Register for free content

The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.

Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.