Health
Statins and lowering glaucoma risk
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted June 28, 2004
The long-term use of statins may be associated with a reduced risk of glaucoma among patients with cardiovascular disease and high cholesterol, according to an article in The Archives of Ophthalmology June issue.
Gerald McGwin Jr., PhD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and colleagues examined medical records of 667 men 50 or older with a new diagnosis of glaucoma made between Jan. 1, 1997, and Dec. 31, 2001, and compared these men to 6,667 control patients (men 50 or older without a diagnosis of glaucoma). They found that patients who used statins for 24 months or more had a significant reduction in risk for glaucoma.
The use of nonstatin cholesterol-lowering medications was also associated with a significantly reduced risk for glaucoma.
A second article in the same issue of The Archives of Ophthalmology indicated that eating fruit may help protect against the development of age-related maculopathy.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/06/28/hlbf0628.htm.
