Triglycerides and Open Angle Glaucoma – A Meta-analysis with meta-regression

Abstract

Although intraocular pressure is the main the risk factor for the development of glaucoma, other risk factors such as vascular dysfunction might play an additional pathogenic role. Hypertriglyceridemia, which may lead to vascular dysfunction, has been implicated in the development of glaucoma. The objective of this meta-analysis was to investigate the association of triglyceride levels with the risk of glaucoma in case-control studies. Seventeen case-control studies were included investigating the difference in triglyceride levels in patients with glaucoma (N = 1 391) compared to subjects without glaucoma (N = 25 575). In random effects meta-analysis, the pooled mean triglyceride level across all studies and patients with and without glaucoma was 132.9 mg/dL (95%CI: 124.0–141.7). Patients with glaucoma had significantly higher mean triglyceride levels than patients without glaucoma (absolute difference = 14.2 mg/dL, 95%CI: 5.8–22.5, p < 0.0001). A considerable amount of heterogeneity of included studies was observed (I2 = 66.2%, heterogeneity χ2 = 47.4 on 16 degrees of freedom, p < 0.0001). In conclusion, this meta-analysis of case-control studies found that patients with glaucoma had higher mean triglyceride levels than patients without glaucoma. This finding is consistent with the concept that hypertriglyceridemia represents an additional risk factor for glaucoma. Whether this association is causal and/or might be modified by glaucoma medications remains to be investigated.

Identification of critical genetic variants associated with metabolic phenotypes of the Japanese population

“…A missense variant in ADAMTSL1 was associated with a complex phenotype including congenital glaucoma, craniofacial, and other systemic features 26 . Because lipid and fatty acid profiles in blood are associated with glaucoma 27 , 28 , these results support the hypothesis that ADAMTSL1 plays important roles in lipid (fatty acid) metabolism. In fact, previous GWASs and other studies reported that the ADAMTSL1 locus is associated with many kinds of phenotypes, including cholesterol (Supplementary Data 4 ).…”

Selected glaucoma risk factors and their role in disease progression. Part II – systemic and vascular factors

“…A metaanalysis found that the mean triglyce ride levels in glaucoma patients were higher by approximately 14 mg/dL than in general population. Although this was a sta tistically significant finding, it is unclear whether it has clinical importance and warrants further research (11). On the other hand, glaucoma treatment, especially beta blockers, are su spected of increasing triglyceride levels.…”

“…On the other hand, glaucoma treatment, especially beta blockers, are su spected of increasing triglyceride levels. Additionally, different metaanalysis showed that statin use was associated with a re duced incidence of glaucoma (11).…”

Association between hypertriglyceridemia and open angle glaucoma: A case report

“…[7] Hypertriglyceridemia causes vascular dysfunction that leads to increased blood viscosity which causes elevation of episcleral venous pressure. [28] Several case-control studies report a significant association of triglycerides with glaucoma and with intraocular pressure. [5910]…”

“…[1] Hypertriglyceridemia is one such metabolic factor, it causes vascular dysfunction that can further lead to glaucoma. [2] So, a thorough ocular and systemic examination can help us to treat the patient rationally.…”