Farsightedness now linked to an increased risk of glaucoma

Doctors have known for years that nearsightedness is linked to glaucoma. Now a study of 5,000 healthy volunteers has shown that farsightedness is a risk too.

As part of the Beaver Dam Eye Study in Wisconsin, the mostly white participants, age 43 to 84, had eye exams, including measurements of pressure within the eye. Most of them returned five years later for follow-up examinations. Those who were farsighted when the study began were 40% more likely to later have incident ocular hypertension -- a condition of abnormally high pressure in the eye but with no damage to the optic nerve. However, eventually the high pressure can injure the nerve and lead to glaucoma.

“If confirmed by future studies, [it] may suggest that people with refractive errors should be monitored more closely for glaucoma,” says Tien Yin Wong, the lead author and assistant professor of ophthalmology at the National University of Singapore. The study was published in the January issue of Ophthalmology.

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Dianne Partie Lange