NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women with type 2 diabetes
apparently run an increased risk of developing glaucoma,
the eye condition characterized by increased internal
pressure that can lead to blindness if left untreated.
The finding comes from an analysis of data from more
than 76,000 participants in the Nurses' Health Study.
"The study supports the notion that type 2 diabetes is
associated with an increased risk of glaucoma," lead author
Dr. Louis R. Pasquale, from Harvard Medical School in
Boston, said in a statement.
"While obesity fuels the type 2 diabetes epidemic, it
appears that factors unrelated to obesity contribute to the
positive association between type 2 diabetes and glaucoma,"
Pasquale added. "We were surprised to find this."
The women in the study were at least 40 years of age and
free of glaucoma when the study began in 1980. The
participants were followed until 2000, according to the
report, published in the journal Ophthalmology.
During the study period, 429 women were diagnosed with
glaucoma.
After accounting for weight, physical activity, age, and
other possible risk factors, the researchers found that
having type 2 diabetes was associated with an 82 percent
higher risk of developing glaucoma. The risk was actually
higher in women who had diabetes for 5 years or less than
for those with long-standing disease.
"Our work suggests, but in no way proves, that factors
other than lifestyle behavior contributing to insulin
resistance could lead to elevated intraocular pressure and
glaucoma," Pasquale concluded.
SOURCE: Ophthalmology, July 2006.
