Sleep Apnea Patients More Likely to Develop Glaucoma

A new study from Taiwan has discovered that people with sleep apnea are more likely to develop glaucoma compared to those with the same sleep condition.

The retrospective study "Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Increased Risk of Glaucoma," used a nationwide, population-based that dataset was used to examine the prevalence and possible risk of the most common form of glaucoma among patients with the most common form of sleep apnea. Researchers looked at information from the National Health Insurance medical records for 1,012 patients aged 40 and older throughout Taiwan who had been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea between 2001 to 2004 and compared those to 6,072 matched-cohort control patients.

The press release notes regarding the study that determined a risk of developing open-angle glaucoma within a five-year period of an obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis that is 1.67 times higher in those who had sleep apnea compared to control subjects.

Previous studies have also shown that an increased prevalence of glaucoma can be the second-leading cause of blindness, which showed through the study that the sleep disorder is not only a sign of poor health but can actually be an independent risk factor for open-angle glaucoma.

"We hope that this study encourages clinicians to alert obstructive sleep apnea patients of the associations between obstructive sleep apnea and open-angle glaucoma as a means of raising the issue and encouraging treatment of those who need it," wrote the authors of the study, led by Herng-Ching Lin, Ph.D., of the College of Medical Science and Technology at Taipei Medical University, via the release.

Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States. It can damage your vision so gradually that the patient may be unable to detect the gradual signs of deterioration. The most common type is known as primary open-angle glaucoma, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. The patient may have sleep apnea and experience loud snoring with being able to enjoy a full night's rest. Two common types according to the Mayo Clinic are Obstructive sleep apnea and Central sleep apnea.