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For your convenience, our office is
located in the
Peach Tree office
park, just South
of 41st & Harvard.
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HERE for a map. |
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Sleep Apnea a Risk Factor for Glaucoma?
By Earl R. Nichols
ANAHEIM, CA -- November 19, 2003 -- People
with obstructive sleep apnoea may also be at
risk for developing glaucoma, according to
some American ophthalmologists. This group
feels the association is great enough that
they are now including questions about sleep
disorders on their patients' medical
histories.
The surprising results of one of these
questionnaires were presented at the 2003
Annual Meeting of the American Academy of
Ophthalmology, held here November 15-18.
Rick Bendel, MD, ophthalmology, Mayo Clinic,
Jacksonville, Florida, United States, noted
that, of 83 of his patients with confirmed
sleep apnoea, 33% had glaucoma, and of
those, 63% were confirmed through visual
field progression and examination of the
optic nerve. For another 17% of patients
glaucoma was confirmed based on examination
of the optic nerve alone.
It is well known that people with sleep
apnoea run an increased risk of car
accidents, myocardial infarction and a host
of other events, but, said Dr. Bendel,
"perhaps we should now be adding the
increased risk of glaucoma to the list, and
telling them that their sleep apnoea could
have having a significantly detrimental
impact on their eyes."
Dr. Bendel conducted the study because sleep
apnoea is known to affect oxygenation,
neurohumoural factors and circulatory
haemodynamics, and he suspected that these
factors could be having an effect on the
integrity of the optic nerve.
Prior studies involving small groups of
patients, or patients in 1 family have found
a similar association between sleep apnoea
and glaucoma, Dr. Bendel noted.
Dr. Bendel said that in his study, there was
no link between age, sex and body mass index
(BMI) with the presence of glaucoma. There
was, however, evidence that the patient's
intraocular pressure (IOP) increases as BMI
increases, and that mean IOP was lower among
the male subjects than it was in females.
The study did not find a link between
glaucoma and age, which is unusual in that
virtually every other study conducted has
deemed age to be one of the strongest risk
factor for the development of glaucoma.
Karanjit Kooner, MD, University of Texas
Southwestern, Dallas, United States,
discussed Dr. Bendel's findings and said,
"This is another important risk factor for
us to consider."
Sleep disorders play a critical role in
patients with glaucoma, said Dr. Kooner,
adding that he now makes questions about
patients' sleep disorders a routine part of
his medical history-taking.
[Study Title: Prevalence of Glaucoma in
Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A
Prospective Case Series This paper is part
of the Glaucoma Free Paper Session.
Abstract: PA038] |
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